A 25-year-old Austin man is in jail today awaiting a court appearance after aiming terroristic threats at the Hormel Foods Corp.

Wednesday, September 15, 1999

A 25-year-old Austin man is in jail today awaiting a court appearance after aiming terroristic threats at the Hormel Foods Corp. plant on Tuesday.

The man, Denovious Pitchford or "Puddy," turned himself in to plant security after phoning two bomb threats to the plant’s cafeteria kitchen.

Pitchford, who works in the kitchen at Quality Pork Processors, told police he intended to play a joke on a woman in the Hormel kitchen. The joke was to be played on a woman who Pitchford said was beginning her first day of work at the plant.

Pitchford first called at noon, telling a female cafeteria worker – not the intended subject – that there was a bomb in the plant. The worker immediately called and informed a Pinkerton security guard of the call.

At 12:35 p.m., Pitchford called again, telling the same woman, "I warned you once, you have 10 minutes."

The woman informed plant security again and a security guard then reported to the cafeteria. The guard answered a third phone call from Pitchford at 12:50 p.m. The guard and Pitchford gave conflicting reports on what was said during that third call, but there was no further bomb threat made.

According to the Austin Police Department report, officers responded to the scene and spoke to plant manager Floyd Albers, who declined to order a plant evacuation and told police a search would be unproductive. Albers did provide police with a list of potential suspects.

"When we respond it’s our policy to work with the victim," Police Chief Paul Philipp said. "We won’t order an evacuation. We make it clear it’s their responsibility. We’re there to consult, not to take control."

At 3:15 p.m., Pitchford arrived at the plant lobby and turned himself in to security guards.

It appears Pitchford made the calls from a friend’s home, said Philipp, and that Pitchford turned himself in because he’d told people of his intentions.

After Pitchford was turned over to the Austin Police, he admitted to making the calls as a joke.

"A bad idea," Philipp said.