Man pleads guilty to making bomb threats to 5 Los Angeles schools

LOS ANGELES - Marcus Jamal Sanchez, 45, of Blackwell, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal charges for telephoning bomb threats to five Los Angeles schools, including two elementary schools and threatening to shoot children as they exited one of the elementary schools.

Investigators said the suspect grew up in the LA area. Sanchez, also known as "Marcus James Buchanan," pleaded guilty to one count of making a threat through interstate commerce to damage and destroy buildings by fire and explosives.

Sanchez, who was arrested in June 2022, has been free on bond since July 2022.

United States Attorney Martin Estrada stated, "Sanchez put children, teachers, and staff at risk through his reckless and irresponsible actions," emphasizing the importance of school safety.

Amir Ehsaei, Acting Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, condemned the threats, stating, "The depraved act of making death threats to vulnerable schoolchildren is incomprehensible to most and will not be tolerated by the FBI, nor the American people."

According to his plea agreement, in less than two hours on the morning of February 28, 2022, Sanchez called in bomb threats to two elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school in Los Angeles. In a call to one of the elementary schools, Sanchez threatened to shoot the children as they exited the building.

On April 27 and 28, 2022, Sanchez made additional bomb threats to two of the Los Angeles schools he previously threatened, threatening to shoot and kill children at other schools. On the afternoon of April 27, Sanchez called an elementary school and said to a school employee, "There is a bomb at your school, and we will shoot the kids when they get out of the school. That is what you get for not accepting me in ’86," according to his plea agreement.

On April 28, Sanchez called the same school again and said there was a pipe bomb placed at the school’s address. After receiving the bomb threat, the school staff notified police and placed the school on lockdown. Police searched the campus for explosives or unusual items but found none.

That same day, Sanchez called a different elementary school and said, "Stop playing games; you know who this is. I am going to shoot the school. I know the kids are there." Afterwards, the school was placed on lockdown, but – as with all the incidents – no explosives or unusual items were found.

The threats prompted school lockdowns and police searches for explosives or unusual items, all of which turned up negative.

United States District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a June 7 sentencing hearing, where Sanchez could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.

The FBI and the Los Angeles School Police Department conducted the investigation, with Assistant United States Attorney Jena A. MacCabe prosecuting the case.