(McCook, NE) -- A Texas man is sentenced to federal prison for threatening to shoot people at a Nebraska Wal-Mart.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says on Thursday, 26 year old Rogelio Salas, Jr., of Weslaco, Texas, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for threatening to shoot employees and a specific victim who worked at the McCook, Nebraska Wal-Mart. Federal prosecutors say on January 8, 2022, Salas, Jr. indicated he was outside the Wal-Mart with firearms and explosives and stated that he was going to enter the store with the weapons to kill the victim. Investigators say Salas, Jr. made multiple threatening calls to the store, and the store evacuated all employees and customers as a result of the threats. Investigation revealed that Salas, Jr. was, in fact, in Texas at the time that the threatening calls were made to the Nebraska store.
Prosecutors say Salas, Jr. began a campaign of threatening and harassing the victim when the victim refused to play online video games anymore with Salas, Jr. because Salas, Jr. was using homosexual slurs during the video game sessions that offended the victim. Investigators say once the victim stopped playing online games with Salas, Jr., he began to contact the victim on social media and determined the victim’s specific workplace at the McCook area Wal-Mart.
Salas, Jr. pled guilty to transmitting threats in interstate commerce on July 21, 2022. For this conduct, the judge sentenced Salas, Jr. to a term of 33 months in federal prison, the longest sentence authorized by Salas, Jr.’s plea of guilty. After Salas, Jr.’s release from prison, he will begin a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.