Associated Press
EUGENE, Ore. — An Albany, Oregon, woman who called in three bomb threats to elementary schools has persuaded a federal judge to sentence her to a longer prison term that prosecutors recommended.
The Register-Guard reports that 47-year-old Jenelle Pinkston told U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken on Tuesday that the government’s recommended 24-month sentence wouldn’t give her enough time to take full advantage of prison medical and mental health treatment programs.
Aiken granted her request and imposed a 37-month sentence. Pinkston has served nearly 19 months in county jail since her arrest, so she will have about 18 months left on her sentence.
The court was told that Pinkston has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from incidents dating back to her childhood.
The woman was arrested in June 2013 after calling in two hoax bomb threats to Waverly Elementary School and another to Periwinkle Elementary School in Albany. In all three incidents, hundreds of students were evacuated. No bombs were found.