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The man arrested in Rolla three weeks ago and charged with “making a terrorist threat” entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday.
Lowell Aughenbaugh, 47, a former Rolla resident who currently lives in Odell, Ill., was arrested Jan. 3 after two family members claimed Aughenbaugh threatened to kill his family and blow up the Rolla Police Department.
Aughenbaugh was charged with “Making a terrorist threat with a reckless disregard of the risk of causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion of a building, inhabitable structure, place of assembly or facility of transportation.”
He was released from the Phelps County Jail on a $100,000 bond and later ordered by the court to return with an attorney Feb. 2.
Documents filed with the court Tuesday revealed Attorney Lance Thurman, with the Law Offices of Williams, Robinson, Rigler & Buschjost, had been retained as legal counsel for Aughenbaugh.
On the same day Thurman filed an Entry of Appearance, Aughenbaugh waived formal arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.
The Probable Cause Statement filed by the Rolla Police Department stated Aughenbaugh’s estranged wife, who lives in Rolla, filed a complaint with the department on Dec. 31, claiming Aughenbaugh called her and threatened to travel to Rolla to kill her and her entire family.
Aughenbaugh’s wife also told investigators most of the members of her family had left town in fear for their own safety. (The day after Aughenbaugh was arrested, seven members of Aughenbaugh’s family filed for orders of protection, which was granted by the court.)
The PCS statement claimed Aughenbaugh “reportedly (had) been preparing for a world crisis and considered himself to be an extreme survivalist.” The statement did not identify the person making the allegation.
Other unattributable information contained in the PCS claimed Aughenbaugh also told his son in a telephone conversation that he was coming to Rolla to kill his entire family as well as blow up the Rolla Police Department, kill everyone inside and then kill himself.
According to Aughenbaugh’s wife and son, as stated in the PCS, it had been a lifelong fantasy of Aughenbaugh to attack a police department.
Four days after Aughenbaugh’s wife filed the report of telephone harassment, the RPD was notified that Aughenbaugh was outside her residence, taking a truck that was owned by both of them.
An RPD officer searched for Aughenbaugh for about an hour before he found him, initiated a traffic stop and arrested Aughenbaugh, but not without incident. The officer said a 10-to-15 minute standoff occurred when Aughenbaugh refused to show his hands. “He was finally talked into surrendering,” the officer stated.
The man arrested in Rolla three weeks ago and charged with “making a terrorist threat” entered a plea of not guilty Tuesday.
Lowell Aughenbaugh, 47, a former Rolla resident who currently lives in Odell, Ill., was arrested Jan. 3 after two family members claimed Aughenbaugh threatened to kill his family and blow up the Rolla Police Department.
Aughenbaugh was charged with “Making a terrorist threat with a reckless disregard of the risk of causing the evacuation, quarantine or closure of any portion of a building, inhabitable structure, place of assembly or facility of transportation.”
He was released from the Phelps County Jail on a $100,000 bond and later ordered by the court to return with an attorney Feb. 2.
Documents filed with the court Tuesday revealed Attorney Lance Thurman, with the Law Offices of Williams, Robinson, Rigler & Buschjost, had been retained as legal counsel for Aughenbaugh.
On the same day Thurman filed an Entry of Appearance, Aughenbaugh waived formal arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty.
The Probable Cause Statement filed by the Rolla Police Department stated Aughenbaugh’s estranged wife, who lives in Rolla, filed a complaint with the department on Dec. 31, claiming Aughenbaugh called her and threatened to travel to Rolla to kill her and her entire family.
Aughenbaugh’s wife also told investigators most of the members of her family had left town in fear for their own safety. (The day after Aughenbaugh was arrested, seven members of Aughenbaugh’s family filed for orders of protection, which was granted by the court.)
The PCS statement claimed Aughenbaugh “reportedly (had) been preparing for a world crisis and considered himself to be an extreme survivalist.” The statement did not identify the person making the allegation.
Other unattributable information contained in the PCS claimed Aughenbaugh also told his son in a telephone conversation that he was coming to Rolla to kill his entire family as well as blow up the Rolla Police Department, kill everyone inside and then kill himself.
According to Aughenbaugh’s wife and son, as stated in the PCS, it had been a lifelong fantasy of Aughenbaugh to attack a police department.
Four days after Aughenbaugh’s wife filed the report of telephone harassment, the RPD was notified that Aughenbaugh was outside her residence, taking a truck that was owned by both of them.
An RPD officer searched for Aughenbaugh for about an hour before he found him, initiated a traffic stop and arrested Aughenbaugh, but not without incident. The officer said a 10-to-15 minute standoff occurred when Aughenbaugh refused to show his hands. “He was finally talked into surrendering,” the officer stated.
Although no weapons were found in the car at the time of his arrest, Aughenbaugh’s wife directed investigators to two different locations in Phelps County, where, she claimed, Aughenbaugh had illegal weapons.
At the first location, in a storage locker rented by Aughenbaugh’s son, officers found several thousand rounds of various ammunition, about 10 guns and what investigators believe was a pipe bomb that had not yet been loaded with an explosive charge. Found at the second location, on the property of Lowell Aughenbaugh’s father-in-law, were fully automatic weapons, armor-piercing rounds and instructional books on how to kill a person. All the arms and ammunition were seized.
Phelps County Sheriff’s Department Detective Sgt. and Evidence Custodian Andy Davis said evidence had been turned over to federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
When contacted Thursday and asked whether his client had been contacted by any federal investigative agency, Thurman said he had not.
Drawing attention to heightened security measures initiated post-911, Thurman said, “If federal agents thought he was a terrorist, they would’ve been here to pick him up immediately.
“This has all been blown out of proportion. This isn’t an act of terrorism,” Thurman said, referring to the actual charge of “making a terrorist threat.”
“The Probable Cause Statement does not indicate someone who is a terrorist or a threat to the community,” Thurman said, pointing to the fact that Aughenbaugh himself did not make any threats to the RPD and that the allegations he did came from estranged family members.
“Painting him as a ‘terrorist’ doesn’t appear to be accurate,” Thurman said.
Thurman also stressed the offense of which Aughenbaugh was accused by the prosecuting attorney was a lower-level Class D felony.
An attempt was made to contact Phelps County Prosecuting Attorney Courtney George for more information, but a PA Office staffer said she was unavailable for comment.
