A maintenance technician in Utah has been arrested after his supervisor at the feed mill where he works “found what looked like a famous listing on the internet.” [his] desk” with more than a dozen colleagues listed as targets, under an affidavit of cause may be filed by the police.
Kevin Michael Jerman, 56, a US Army veteran who claims to have served in Iraq, has been charged with making terroristic threats, which is a felony. Jerman, police said, “had the gun, the knowledge and the experience to execute the plan he had written down on paper, especially given his military background.”
That plan, the affidavit said, read as follows:
Bearing 9 mm with 3 clips = 36 loops; Carry a 9mm assault rifle with 2 extension clips = 20 rounds; Carry a .22 caliber Smith & Wesson with extended mags, 3 = 65 rounds; First get two at shop 2; Then eliminate who has been [sic] is in load 2; Then there is the mineral office 3; Then whoever is in hand adds area 2 or 3; Next bring up the slide loader operator 1; Then the office took out 3. Then one CUG loadout.
14 Total network. Had to take out internet so no calls from landline. Build a portable jammer so that the signal can be interfered with. If the police come, stay high to snipe, use .308 for this.
Juba District Court
Jerman complained of illness on Thursday, then his manager discovered the note and called 911, the affidavit states.
“Jeff said Kevin has been acting strange lately,” it continued. “Jeff said that Kevin wanted to work alone. Jeff said that 2 days ago Kevin flew a drone around the work area… Jeff said he got another call from Kevin and Kevin said he was feeling better and wanted to come to work. Jeff insists this is not normal behavior. Nephi City Police are currently sitting in front of Kevin’s house and witness Kevin get out of an unregistered vehicle and into his home. ”
Police received a warrant to search Jerman’s home and vehicle, and the SWAT team was called in to assist. Inside the house, police say they found a variety of weapons including three 9mm pistols with an extended magazine, multiple handguns and an assault rifle. Jerman complied with the arresting officers and was taken to the Juab County Sheriff’s Office for questioning.
According to the affidavit, it was first reported by local outlet Fox 13, Jerman told investigators he wrote the note Wednesday during his lunch break. He tried to explain that he was “thinking about… what would happen if they had a mass shooting,” and said he had recently read an article about mass shootings. notes mean,” Deputy Brady Talbot wrote in the filing.
“I explained to Kevin my concerns about his insider knowledge and his plan to climb a tower and snipe law enforcement,” the affidavit continued. “Kevin talked about situational awareness and talked about what a supermarket would do if a threat of violence occurred. Deputy Rowley asked Kevin if he agreed that what he did was the exact opposite of what Kevin was saying. Kevin said it the way he told it that he would agree. ”
However, Jerman insisted the note was “just words written on a piece of paper,” and that he wasn’t really prepared for a mass shooting. At the same time, police stated in the affidavit that Jerman “had the knowledge and means to carry out the attack as he wrote.”
Jerman suffers from “ongoing” headaches and migraines, and has consistently battled depression and PTSD, he said. He told police he suffered a traumatic brain injury, along with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, joint pain and Parkinson’s disease.
“Kevin has many medications that he takes every day, including pain relievers,” the affidavit read. “Kevin also gets weekly morphine injections.”
Jerman enlisted at the age of 18 and worked as a diesel mechanic, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“During my enlistment, I had the opportunity to participate in Desert Storm and also Operation Iraqi Freedom,” it said. “Then I decided to go back to civilian life and that’s when I found a job in Nephi Utah, the job of a Diesel Mechanic.”
“My next dream is to invent something useful,” Jerman said in another post.
In the arrest affidavit, police explained that although they had confiscated Jerman’s gun, it was “not known if he was able to find a gun from someone else”.
Jerman is held without bail as “A significant danger” to the community. He has no attorney listed in court records and The Daily Beast could not be reached for comment.
