A San Gabriel Valley resident, 23-year-old Daniel Isaac Gonzalez of Montebello, entered a guilty plea today for sending a bomb threat to a security guard at a bank in El Monte, and later, to himself in what appeared to be an ill-conceived plan to throw off investigating authorities. Gonzalez admitted to one count of making a threat and conveying false information through interstate commerce with the intent to kill individuals and cause destruction to buildings via explosives.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, on July 13, 2023, Gonzalez sent a threatening text message to the security guard working at Cathay Bank, stating, "I put a bomb where u work [expletive] I know where u work bank." Then, on July 26, he texted a similar threatening message to his work phone while employed at the same bank, which read, "This Michael you did me dirty. I put a bomb by your job guy [expletive] you and see you in hell bitch. -anonymous 909." The acts, which he acknowledged in his plea, were aimed at killing, injuring, and intimidating the victim, and they disrupted public and business operations significantly.
Gonzalez faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison when he returns for sentencing on October 25, as per the schedule set by United States District Judge Wesley L. Hsu. He currently remains out on bond, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California. The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force along with the El Monte Police Department collaborated in the investigation leading to Gonzalez's admission of guilt.
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