A Grand Rapids man who vowed to kill employees at a Cascade Township business “just like they did in Vegas’’ was sentenced to prison Tuesday for what the judge called a “fire and brimstone’’ threat.
“Perhaps in a simpler time 20 years ago, it wouldn’t have been seen as such a serious matter as it is today,’’ Kent County Circuit Court Judge Donald A. Johnston said.
David Robert Seastrom says he has no recollection of the October 2-3 telephone rants against Teleperformance, a call center operator with locations in 19 states, including Michigan. Investigators say Seastrom was upset the business wouldn’t hire him because of his criminal past.
“When they told me I had made a terroristic threat, I was flabbergasted,’’ Seastrom told the court. “I didn’t realize that there was such a harsh punishment for it.’’
Making a false report or threat of terrorism is a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The judge sentenced Seastrom to between five and 20 years.
Seastrom, 37, said he is embarrassed and “sickened’’ by what he said. “I’m also sickened that I scared the people at Teleperformance, the company that I called. I don’t even remember doing it.’’
Johnston refreshed his memory.
After being declined a job due to his felony record, Seastrom “responded by repeatedly calling Teleperformance and making death threats against its employees,’’ the judge said.
“Specifically, you said ‘I will kill you as you all walk out of work just like they did in Vegas’ and ‘you don’t know who you’re messing with,’’’ Johnston said.
Defense attorney Jeffrey Kortes said the calls were made during a period of “extreme intoxication.’’
Investigators identified Seastrom by his phone number. Employees also recognized his voice on the recordings, court records show.
The Oct. 1 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip left 58 people dead and hundreds more wounded. Seastrom was arrested Oct. 3.
“It should be understood that we live at a time when various acts of terrorism seem to occur every week,’’ Johnston said. “There’s a heightened sense of awareness of this type of activity. And it creates a heightened sense of fear and terror in the hearts of the people on the receiving end of it.’’
Prison sentences for the offense are uncommon in Kent County; most offenders see jail and/or probation. Seastom’s criminal background factored into the harsher term.
He has a Nov. 2011 conviction for attempted resisting/obstructing a police officer stemming from an altercation with a Grand Valley State University officer. In Sept. 2012, he was convicted of assaulting a corrections officer at the Ottawa County Jail.
Seastrom was discharged from probation two years ago for a felonious assault conviction involving a Kent County sheriff’s deputy.
Deputies responded to a home in Byron Township in Feb. 2013 to investigate a disorderly person complaint involving Seastrom, court records show.
When deputies arrived, Seastrom, armed with a small pocketknife, approached the officers with the blade extended while screaming “shoot me,’’ court records show.
Seastrom was shot with a Taser as he continued to advance. He threw the knife at deputies and was arrested, court records show.
He pleaded no contest to felonious assault and was placed on probation for three years.
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