Former student seeks way out of bomb threat charges

The United State Attorney’s Office is considering dropping charges against a former Pitt… The United State Attorney’s Office is considering dropping charges against a former Pitt student indicted for making bomb threats to campus in April 2008.

Louisa Nkrumah, who is accused of calling in threats to the Cathedral of Learning and Posvar Hall, asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office to consider her for the Pre-Trial Diversion program.

“Participants who successfully complete the program will not be charged or, if charged, will have the charges against them dismissed,” according to the U.S. Attorneys’ Manual, which advises federal prosecutors.

People participating in Pre-Trial Diversion program work with the U.S. Probation Service to create a program aimed at fulfilling their needs for employment, counseling, education, job training or psychiatric care, among other things, according to the manual.

Nkrumah is attending Penn State Harrisburg this fall. Her attorney, Cynthia Reed Eddy, believes a temporary delay in the case will allow Nkrumah to “complete a semester of college and demonstrate her good behavior in a manner that could have a positive impact on her request to be admitted to the Pre-Trial Diversion program,” according to court documents.

District Judge Nora Barry Fischer extended Nkrumah’s deadline to file pre-trial motions by four months, to December 28, to give Nkrumah and her lawyer “reasonable time necessary” to prepare for a trial, should one occur. Federal attorneys can not set a trial date until after the deadline for pre-trial motions.

Workers in Reed Eddy’s office said the lawyer was out of town and could not be reached for comment. In the past, Reed Eddy has declined to comment, saying all communication between her and her clients is confidential.

Margaret Philbin, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, was trying to reach Assistant U.S. Attorney Constance Bowden to check the status of Nkrumah’s request to be join the Pre-Trial Diversion program. She declined to comment on the status of the request, as well as the criteria for approval.

Continue to follow The Pitt News for continuing coverage of Nkrumah’s case.