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Goshen man gets 2½ years for mass murder theater threat

ELKHART, Ind. (AP) – A man who threatened a mass murder at an Elkhart theater he was evicted from has been sentenced to 2½ years in prison.

An Elkhart County judge sentenced 56-year-old Thomas Townsend on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to intimidation.

Elkhart County Prosecutor Curtis Hill says Townsend called an employee of the Lerner Theater and left a voicemail during the weekend of Aug. 29-30 threatening a mass murder during a concert at the venue. Police traced the number to Townsend.

Hill says police officers working an Aug. 29 concert at the theater evicted Townsend from a concert after a patron reported that a man was being disruptive and threatening physical aggression.

Hill says prosecutors dropped a public intoxication charge against Townsend in exchange for his plea.

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