Man pleads guilty to faking bomb threat to get out of work early

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (KTRK) -- A San Antonio man wanted to get out of work early, so he called in a bomb threat. Now he's facing up to 10 years in federal prison.

Steve M. Gutierrez III, 40, has pleaded guilty to threatening to damage or destroy a structure by means of explosives.

According to the US Attorney's Office, Gutierrez admitted he called in a threat to the general contractor for the new US Coast Guard facility under construction at the Corpus Christi International Airport at 7:12am on July 25, 2014. During the call, he warned the contractor to "be expecting two bombs to go off."

As a result of the threat, workers were evacuated from the site and law enforcement responded. The investigation ultimately linked the number used to make the call to Gutierrez. When confronted, Gutierrez admitted making the threat using a cell phone which he later destroyed in an attempt to avoid detection.

Gutierrez, who had been working at the site, admitted he had seen similar instances in which threats were received and employees were released. He explained that he had made the bomb threat in order to be dismissed early from work.

Gutierrez faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine. He remains free on bond until his sentencing hearing in December.