Police: FRCC threat suspect had illegal guns, drugs
Fort Collins police who on Monday arrested a convicted felon for allegedly threatening to burn down buildings at Front Range Community College say they found a semi-automatic rifle, a handgun, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and illegal drugs in a search of the man's house.
David Moscow, 29, was arrested after search warrants of his home and car were executed Monday, following Moscow's alleged "indirect threats" to Front Range Community College's Larimer County campus, Assistant Chief Cory Christensen said Tuesday.
A psychologist notified police last week that Moscow had become increasingly angry about his perceived treatment by the community college. In 2014, two years after voluntarily leaving FRCC, Moscow left an unprovoked and harassing voicemail for a counselor. A police report was filed, and Moscow recently reapplied to the college, officers wrote in his arrest affidavit.
Campus leaders met with Moscow earlier this month to assess his mental stability and determine his enrollment eligibility. Investigators report that while speaking with a counselor on Oct. 20, Moscow said if the college didn’t re-admit him as a student that he was going to, “burn the building down, and he was not kidding.”
The therapist felt the threat was credible and notified campus officials and Fort Collins police. Moscow was taken in for a 72-hour hold after an Oct. 23 traffic stop.
Investigators searched his home and vehicle and located an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, a Glock .40-caliber handgun and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. As a convicted felon, Moscow is barred from possessing weapons. Officers also found hydrocodone pills for which Moscow lacked a prescription and amphetamines, court records show.
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Moscow was taken into police custody from the 72-hour hold on suspicion of educational interference, illegal possession of a weapon and possession of a large-capacity magazine, which is illegal in Colorado.
Bond in the case was set at $37,500. Moscow is next due in court Nov. 2.
In response to the alleged threat, college officials hired additional security guards and are also using off-duty Fort Collins police officers to boost security, FRCC spokesman John Feeley said Tuesday.
Details about the number of additional resources and the staffing costs were not immediately available.
"When we become aware of a threat, we immediately contacted police. We continue to assess risks in consultation with police as they investigate," Feeley wrote in an email. "We keep students and staff as informed as possible so as not to disrupt the investigation."
The Larimer Campus at the intersection of Shields Street and Harmony Road made headlines last month for a pair of threats. A graffiti bomb threat written in a bathroom prompted a campus sweep Sept. 21. Nothing suspicious was found. Officials offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, but no new leads were generated, Feeley said.
That incident happened three days after classes were canceled and campus was evacuated for what police said were threats of a "Columbine-type" incident. Sebastian Pimentel-Calvo, 19, was arrested after allegedly posting a video on Snapchat that showed him in a classroom "placing what appears to be the crosshairs of a firearm scope" on his teacher, Fort Collins police wrote in the man's arrest affidavit.
The phone then jerked back as if it was a recoiling firearm. "When you straight up Columbing it" was written in red at the bottom of the video, police wrote.
Pimentel-Calvo is charged with interference with school operations through a credible threat, a Class 1 misdemeanor. Court proceedings are ongoing.
Reporter Jason Pohl covers breaking news for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.