Erie amateur radio operator faces more charges of airing bomb, other threats

An Erie man accused of using an emergency radio frequency to broadcast threats against people and property and to air bogus weather and other emergencies in 2021 and earlier this year was given two big breaks during recent court appearances.

Richard L. Wagner, 61, had faced 37 criminal charges, including multiple counts of bomb threats, in two criminal cases that Erie County detectives filed against him in October and February. But prosecutors dropped all but two charges — one first-degree misdemeanor count of terroristic threats in each case — at Wagner's preliminary hearing on March 3. Wagner waived those two charges to court.

The second break came on March 22, when Erie County Judge David Ridge agreed to change the $250,000 bond holding Wagner in the Erie County Prison in the second case to a $25,000 unsecured bond. Ridge placed conditions on the bond, however, including a prohibition against the misuse of any communications device and the removal of Wagner's radio equipment from his home.

Wagner could lose both of those deals after county detectives accused him of airing, earlier this week, a series of new threats over emergency airwaves.

New case

Wagner was placed in the Erie County Prison on $175,000 bond Wednesday after Erie 3rd Ward District Judge Tom Carney arraigned him on charges including a felony count of retaliation against a prosecutor or judicial official and 14 counts of bomb threats.

Erie County detectives filed the charges on Tuesday, accusing Wagner of broadcasting a series of new threats against victims and witnesses on Sunday and Monday. Among those threatened was Erie 6th Ward District Judge Timothy Beveridge, who was assigned the two earlier cases against Wagner, according to information in Wagner's criminal complaint.

Detectives wrote in the complaint that Wagner — who they said uses a computer synthesizer to disguise his voice — has threatened to place bombs in six government buildings and offices, three housing complexes in Erie County and in local schools and "modes of transportation." The threats were transmitted via ham radio by utilizing Radio Association of Erie transmitters, which are used by Erie County Emergency Management and the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency in the event of regional, state and national emergencies, according to information in the complaint.

Investigators also wrote that Wagner has issued two false alarms of bomb threats and a false alarm of a working structure through the Med 9 channel of the Erie County 911 system in an attempt to dispatch the Union City Volunteer Fire Department.

Detectives additionally accuse Wagner of issuing false tornado warnings and threatening people with sending bombs to their residences, according to the complaint.

"The defendant stated, 'I will kill you slowly and torture your life and make it a living hell;' 'I'm out, and I'm coming for you and all your friends. You will pay for this;' and, 'Beat your brains out with a metal baseball bat,'" detectives wrote in the complaint.

Detectives said they reviewed audio recordings from Monday in which Wagner stated, "I will kill County Detective 6 and former Millcreek police officer Timothy Beveridge, now a presiding judge, Erie County."

Beveridge was formerly a Millcreek police officer before he was elected as district judge in 2017.

Erie radio operator charged with threatsAn amateur radio operator in Erie is accused of using a radio frequency designed to notify people of emergencies

Earlier cases

County detectives first charged Wagner with making threats over amateur radio on Oct. 12. Detectives accused him of broadcasting false reports of tornadoes, floods and severe thunderstorms between June 30 and Aug. 14.

Detectives wrote in the complaint that when other radio operators confronted Wagner, he interfered in communications by playing touch tones, threatened to smash the knees of members with a baseball bat, and threatened to place a bomb in the stairwell of Highpoint Towers.

Wagner lives in the Highpoint Towers, 2314 Sassafras St., according to information in his criminal complaints.

Wagner was charged by summons and was awaiting his preliminary hearing in the case when, on Feb. 14, county detectives filed a new set of criminal charges against him.

Detectives accused Wagner in that complaint of transmitting bomb threats over the radio between Dec. 19 and Feb. 13. The targets of those threats included the City of Erie Police Department, the Erie County Courthouse, several residential housing units and a local eatery, according to information in the complaint.

Detectives also wrote that Wagner threatened to send a pipe bomb in the mail to an Erie County resident. That resident notified the U.S. Postal Inspection Services, which county detectives assisted in making contact with Wagner at his residence on Feb. 1, according to information in the complaint. Investigators said Wagner denied making the pipe bomb threat.

Wagner was arraigned on those charges on Feb. 15 and was placed in the Erie County Prison on $250,000 bond.

Wagner had his preliminary hearing on two cases on March 3 before Beveridge. He waived the two misdemeanor counts to court and was returned to prison.

Erie man waives charges in threats casesAn amateur radio operator in Erie accused by county authorities of using a radio emergency frequency

Bond agreement

Wagner returned to court on March 22 for a hearing after his lawyer, listed in court records as Erie County Assistant Public Defender Eden Hartman, filed a motion to modify Wagner's bond.

Ridge, in an amended order issued on March 22, agreed to change the $250,000 bond to $25,000 unsecured bond. He ordered Wagner released to the supervision of Erie County Adult Probation, which would take him home and immediately place him on electronic monitoring.

In his order, Ridge also wrote that:

• All amateur/ham radio equipment shall be removed from the property and properly stored.
• Wagner may be only given a four-hour "window" a week to be out of his residence.
• Any misuse of any type of communication device, including phones tablets and computers, would violate the order and Wagner would return to prison on $250,000 bond.
• If Wagner is charged with any type of criminal offense for any conduct occurring after March 21, he would return to prison with bond set at $250,000.

It was unknown Thursday if any radio equipment had been removed from Wagner's apartment after the March 22 court hearing. A county detective who is involved in the case said Thursday that a search warrant was served on Wagner's residence after his arrest in February and that items were seized, but he did not specify what was taken from the apartment.

It was also unknown Thursday if prosecutors would seek to reinstate the original list of charges against Wagner in the earlier two cases now that he has been charged in a third case.

Hartman and Erie County Assistant District Attorney Gregory Reichart, who was in court for the March 22 bond hearing, could not be reached for comment Thursday morning.

Wagner on March 23 waived his appearance at his formal arraignment in the two earlier cases, according to online court docket information. He is tentatively scheduled to appear in court on April 14 for his preliminary hearing in the latest case before Erie 3rd Ward District Judge Tom Carney.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.