Northern Michigan man sentenced for leaving pipe bombs at cell phone stores as part of extortion plot

Jillian Fellows, The Petoskey News-Review
·3 min read
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This AT&T store located in Sault Ste. Marie was involved in a pipe bomb incident in September 2021, as was a Verizon Wireless location in Cheboygan.
This AT&T store located in Sault Ste. Marie was involved in a pipe bomb incident in September 2021, as was a Verizon Wireless location in Cheboygan.
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BAY CITY — More than a year after pipe bombs were discovered outside of cell phone stores in Cheboygan and Sault Ste. Marie, the suspect in that case has been sentenced.

John Douglas Allen, 76, of Whittemore was sentenced Wednesday, Nov. 9 to 75 months on two separate criminal cases related to a $5 million extortion plot using shrapnel-filled pipe bombs the defendant placed outside cellphone stores in Cheboygan and Sault Ste. Marie, announced Eastern District of Michigan United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison and Western District of Michigan United States Attorney Mark Totten. Whittemore and Cheboygan are in the Eastern District and Sault Ste. Marie is in the Western District.

Ison and Totten were joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division.

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Allen was sentenced before United States District Judge Thomas Ludington in Bay City. Allen had pleaded guilty to extortion by wrongful use of force, violence and fear, as well as two counts of attempted destruction of a building using an explosive device in July.

According to court records, Allen admitted that on Sept. 15, 2021, at approximately 7:36 p.m., he placed a United States Postal Service (USPS) box with black tape on it and a wire coming out of it outside an AT&T Store in Sault Ste. Marie. Later that evening, Allen placed another USPS box with black tape on it and a wire coming out of it outside of a Verizon Store in Cheboygan. The two devices were examined by the FBI laboratory Explosive Unit, which concluded that the two devices were improvised explosive devices (IEDs), also commonly referred to as pipe bombs. Both pipe bombs contained shrapnel. In addition, threat notes demanding $5 million were placed on cell phone towers in the area as well as mailed to the telecommunications companies. Based on video footage taken from the cell phone stores and other nearby businesses, as well as an investigation by law enforcement, agents were able to determine that Allen was the person who left the packages outside of the stores. The defendant claimed that he was motivated by what he viewed as immoral content being spread on the internet and cellphones.

More:Investigation continues after explosive devices left at Northern Michigan cellphone stores

In addition, Allen pleaded guilty to placing letters containing threats aimed at telecommunications providers at cell towers located in the Upper Peninsula.

“A top priority for my office is ensuring the safety of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “Allen’s actions in placing pipe bombs in front of commercial businesses endangered not only the lives of innocent individuals, but also our first responders and the bomb technicians who rendered those devices safe. My office will continue to aggressively pursue individuals for crimes like this that put our first responders and communities at risk.”

U.S. Attorney Ison added that “This defendant sought to use terror, threats and bombs to scare ordinary people going about their business. We will not tolerate individuals who use fear to try to line their own pockets.”

James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan, said “Today’s sentence demonstrates the gravity of the defendant’s egregious behavior to place the lives of innocent citizens at risk in order to extort money from companies.”

“This coordinated effort by local, state, tribal and federal law enforcement agencies across Michigan helped protect communities from being further victimized and sends a clear message that crime does not pay,” he added.

This case was investigated by special agents, intelligence analysts, troopers, deputies, and officers from the FBI, Michigan State Police, Cheboygan County Sheriff's Office, Cheboygan Police Department, Sault Ste. Marie Police Department, Sault Ste. Marie Tribal Police, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Border Patrol and ATF.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Michael Buckley, Jerome Gorgon, Christopher O’Connor and Theodore Greeley are prosecuting the case in their respective districts.

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Northern Michigan man sentenced for leaving pipe bombs at cell phone stores