Stolen Wi-Fi Used To Threaten 'Killing Spree,' Sheriff Says

NEW PORT RICHEY, FL — When New Port Richey residents called the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday about a “man down” on Loy Street, chances are they didn’t know they’d put deputies hot on the trail of a person wanted into connection with a string of online threats levied against the agency and its law enforcement officers.

The first deputy to respond to the call in the 10000 block of Loy Street found Terrance W. Upham, 43, on the ground outside a home, an arrest report said. While the deputy didn't find anything physically wrong with Upham, he did note finding a “syringe containing a light brown liquid” that field tested positive for methamphetamine, the report added.

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Upham was charged with possession of methamphetamine at that time, but two other investigators soon stepped in. It seems Upham was also had a white cellular phone that was traced to a Twitter account that had been used to post threats against the sheriff’s office and its employees in the early morning hours of April 23, the report said.

According to the sheriff’s office, one of the threats alleged a “pipe bomb and other explosives” had been placed in an around a Pasco government building. The owner of the Twitter handle “repit4u” went on to say that Pasco emergency management would respond and “set off explosions in Pasco the Sheriffs department killing many,’” an email from the agency said. The Twitter user also said he would “take full responsibility for the killing spree” and had a “goal to kill many pigs,” the email said.

Not surprisingly, the tweets prompted the sheriff’s office and other law enforcement agencies to swing into high alert, checking government buildings for explosives. None were found, the agency noted.

When Upham was brought into custody after the Loy Street “man down” call was placed and deputies established his alleged connection to the threats, they also searched his home for explosives and explosive-making materials. None were found, the sheriff’s office said.

Prior to his arrest on charges related to the threats, Upham “admitted the cell phone in his possession had not been used by anyone else and the Twitter account which the threats were made from was his account,” the report said. Deputies also say Upham was found outside the Loy Street home because he had been stealing its Wi-Fi connection.

As for why the threats were made, “the defendant could not give a reasonable explanation,” the report said.

Upham was ultimately charged with methamphetamine possession, making written threats to kill or do bodily harm and making a false report about planting a bomb or explosive. He was also charged for swiping access to a Wi-Fi connection.

In a Monday email, the sheriff’s office noted the Wi-Fi Upham is accused of using to make the threats was not locked. The crime also serves as “a reminder to people to lock their Wi-Fi accounts,” the sheriff’s office said.

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Booking photo courtesy of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office