Trial set for former teacher who emailed threats
by Mindy Aguon
Guam - The defense and prosecution will present closing arguments tomorrow morning in the case against Stephen Vold, who is charged with terroristic conduct as a third-degree felony. Vold sent two e-mail messages where he allegedly threatened to hurt the employees of the Superior Court and even take out his frustrations at a local school.
According to court documents, Vold said he was under extreme stress because his relationship with a woman had just ended and he was informed that he owed $230,000 in child support. He advised the person that if they had friends who worked at the court to tell them not to go to court on January 15 because he "Did not know what he was going to do".
Vold, who was a teacher at the time, recalled how he had gone to his high school with a gun, several hundred rounds of ammunition and pipe bombs. The defense has argued Vold is obsessive compulsive and was severely depressed causing impaired judgment at the time he wrote the e-mail messages. The prosecution has pointed out that psychological evaluations did not show that he was depressed.
Closing arguments are scheduled for 8:30 Thursday morning.