A 34-year-old man is facing charges after investigators say they traced about 35 threatening emails sent to the Arizona Court of Appeals clerk of court back to Elias Villa. Elias Villa was taken into custody near 26th Drive and Beryl, accused of sending messages that referenced building pipe bombs, using guns and committing other acts of violence against the court.
Detectives Traced Dozens of Emails to One Suspect
According to ABC15 Arizona, detectives with the Arizona Department of Public Safety Threat Mitigation Unit investigated roughly 35 threatening emails sent to the Court of Appeals clerk of court in Tucson. Investigators eventually traced the messages to Villa, the outlet reported, leading to his arrest.
Police say the emails referenced building pipe bombs, using guns and other acts of violence, a detail the station's report attributes directly to the content of the messages themselves. Villa faces charges of assault, computer tampering, harassment and other related counts, per the same account.
Suspect Denies Intent to Threaten Anyone
Police say Villa acknowledged sending the emails to the court of appeals, but told investigators he had no intent to threaten anyone, the station reported. That claim has not been independently resolved and stands only as the attributed statement police say he made.
What Arizona Law Says About Threatening Messages
Arizona law makes it unlawful for a person to knowingly terrify, intimidate, threaten or harass a specific person through an electronic communication, according to the Arizona Legislature. The state's computer tampering statute separately covers recklessly using a computer, computer system or network in a course of conduct directed at another person that seriously alarms, torments, threatens or terrorizes that person and causes a reasonable person substantial emotional distress, the Arizona Legislature notes.
The case follows another Tucson-area prosecution this year. The U.S. Department of Justice, District of Arizona, announced that Jacob Aaron Hicks, 46, of Tucson, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with making an interstate threat to injure after allegedly sending an email on September 23, 2026, threatening mass bombings at the White House and around the Washington, D.C. area.
Threats Against Judicial Officials Have Climbed Nationally
Threats against court officials are not isolated to Arizona. Federal authorities documented nearly 27,000 threatening or harassing online communications targeting court officials between 2015 and 2022, according to Judiciaries Worldwide, a Federal Judicial Center resource. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated 457 threats against federal judges in 2023, an increase AP News described as more than double prior levels, citing the agency's director.
No additional details about a formal charging document, a court appearance or any disposition in Villa's case have been released. ABC15 Arizona reported Villa's arrest and the allegations against him.
