California Man Arrested For Making Threats, Causing Hours-Long Manhunt At Tufts University In 2021
MEDFORD (CBS) -- A California man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly making threats to Tufts University police last year. Sammy Sultan, 48, of Hayward, Calif., was arrested in California and will appear in a Boston court at a later date.
According to prosecutors, on or about May 28, 2021, Sultan made eight calls to Tufts University police, which collectively lasted about an hour. Six of the calls included specific threats.
"Sultan allegedly claimed to have entered an unidentified female's dorm room somewhere on the Tufts University campus, to be hiding beneath a bed, and to possess a taser and pistols. On several occasions, Sultan stated that he intended to use the taser if the female returned to the dorm room and discovered him hiding beneath the bed. It is alleged that Sultan played the sounds of a taser activating and a pistol racking during the calls," said a statement from US Attorney Rachael Rollins.
Tufts and local police searched for hours and went room by room through multiple buildings looking for the caller. An investigation later revealed that Sultan made the calls from California, the U.S. Attorney said.
Sultan was charged with one count of making threatening communications in interstate commerce. This charge carries a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
In 2017, Sultan pleaded guilty in the Northern District of California to making hundreds of obscene and harassing phone calls to law enforcement agencies. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
