Robert Edward Millsaps
An outside prosecutor is asking that a man who was charged with making threats to bomb the courtroom of Judge Gary Starnes as well as the Federal Building be declared a persistent and career offender.
Mike Dunavant, chief prosecutor with the Tennessee District Attorneys Conference, also said Robert Edward Millsaps should get enhanced punishment.
Local judges and the district attorney's office recused themselves.
Judge Bradley Sherman, a Circuit Court judge based in Winchester, presided on Thursday at a hearing at Hamilton County Criminal Court. He said Michael Dowd, the former chief homicide prosecutor in Hamilton County, has been appointed to represent Millsaps.
Millsaps said he has been in jail over a year on the charges and was ready to plead guilty on "time served." Prosecutor Dunavant said the state would not agree to that.
Judge Sherman told Millsaps he needed to talk with attorney Dowd, and that is to happen early next week.
Police said Millsaps from the jail also issued death threats against a local bonding agent as well as the Public Defender's Office.
Millsaps, who was earlier termed a violent criminal and member of the Aryan Nation gang, is charged with retaliation against a judge, juror or office, commission of an act of terrorism, and three counts of filing false reports.
He is being held on bonds totaling $400,465.
The charges arose when the Sheriff's Office received a call from a deputy at the jail who said Millsaps was making threats against a judge and the Federal Building.
Investigators said they learned that a bonding agent had received a call from Millsaps in which she was told he had plans to bomb the Starnes courtroom as well as the Federal Building.
The alleged threat was passed on to Judge Starnes, "who became alarmed and stated he wished to prosecute Robert Millsaps." Judge Starnes said he also was going to report the threats to the FBI.
Investigators listened to 20 phone calls made by Millsaps from the jail and found terroristic threats on three of them.
On one call, Millsaps told a bonding agent that he was going to bomb her house, it was stated.
He also said he was going to bomb the Public Defender's Office because they would not let him fire his public defender.
In a call to a bonding agent, Millsaps "states he forgot to tell her that he was going to bomb Judge Starnes' courtroom and laughs and then states he is going to bomb the Federal Building and (the bonding office)."
Investigators found that Millsaps has had 14 cases go before Judge Starnes that have either been settled or are pending dating back to 2020.
Millsaps' prior convictions include several counts of burglary of an auto, theft of property, and evading arrest, as well as attempted aggravated assault and promotion of meth.