(The Associated Press distributed the following article on August 11.)
MADISON, Wisc. — The man charged with making bomb threats that forced an Amtrak train to evacuate in Portage last month will plead guilty, his attorney said Tuesday.
Michael Dean Conwill, 35, is “adamant” that he doesn’t want a trial, said his attorney Joseph Sommers at an arraignment hearing Tuesday.
Federal Magistrate Stephen Crocker set a change of plea hearing for Aug. 24 before District Judge Barbara Crabb.
Conwill has been indicted in connection with making 911 calls from his cell phone on July 6 to area law enforcement agencies, including the Juneau County Sheriff’s Department. He allegedly said, “There is a bomb on the train going to Chicago.”
Nearly 300 passengers and crew members were evacuated from the train traveling from the West Coast to Chicago. Amtrak said the delay cost the company $100,000.
Conwill was arrested two days later by federal authorities in Chicago while waiting for a train to Kentucky. He has moved around the country frequently in the past several years and hasn’t established a permanent residence or been steadily employed, Sommers said.
He also said after court his client has had “mental health problems.” But Conwill is competent to enter a guilty plea and resolve the case, which he wants to do quickly, Sommers said.