Almost seven months later, William Bouvay Jr. pleaded guilty Monday to last September’s empty bomb threat on campus that invoked a whirlwind of confusion as faculty and students scurried to evacuate and administrators canceled all classes and activities for the day.
Bouvay, a two-time felony offender, made the plea agreement with the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, which saved him from becoming a third-time felony offender and will limit his jail sentence to no more than 28 years, according to the Baton Rouge Clerk of Court’s office.
According to the Clerk of Court’s office, Bouvay was charged with communicating false information for a planned bombing on school property. Bouvay will not face sentencing until June 28.
“Yes, I planted three bombs at LSU’s campus. My colleagues planted three bombs at LSU to go off in two hours if my …”
These were the words spoken by Bouvay to a 911 dispatcher as he phoned in the bomb threat. Students, faculty and staff were notified of the threat minutes later via the University’s emergency text messaging system, which asked everyone to “evacuate as calmly and quickly as possible.”
Roadways on and around campus almost immediately became clogged with anxious students who sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic, waiting for the next update from the University while bomb-sniffing dogs and police officials did a sweep of buildings on campus.
Many faculty and students were frustrated by the vagueness of the University’s evacuation instructions and lack of initial information about whether classes would be canceled.
LSU Emergency Operations Center core committee chairwoman D’Ann Morris later took responsibility for the lack of clear communication. Morris said the EOC planned to improve communication and protocols dealing with evacuations and other emergency procedures.
Bouvay was arrested two days after the false alarm.
East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff Sid Gautreaux III speaks to the press Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2012 about the collective efforts to detain William Bouvay Jr., 42, after he made a bomb threat to LSU's campus on Monday. (Catherine Threlkeld / The Daily Reveille)
