Pinal County’s top prosecutor says deadly force would have been an easier option for police that converged on reports of bomb threats near a federal immigration facility, and he credits the many agencies for instead using tools like a drone to safely arrest the suspect in the New Year’s Eve incident.
Patrick Michael Gerola was allegedly in a lot next to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement building near Florence, honking the horn of an old, red SUV and making bomb threats.
Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer said Gerola did not have explosives or anything like them.
“This really wasn’t terrorism,” he said.
Prosecutors studied whether to charge Gerola with making a terroristic hoax.
“We had the lingering feeling that this was primarily a substance abuse and mental health issue,” he said.
Prison was not the answer, Volkmer said, and his office just dropped the case against Gerola, who is by now likely getting wrap-around treatment from providers who aim to keep people living in their home.
