University: UL bomb hoax suspect indicted

Claire Taylor, The Advertiser, August 13, 2014

Devin Haywood, 30, was indicted in connection with a bomb hoax at UL Lafayette and an attempted bank robbery. (Photo: Submitted photo )

The man who called in a bomb threat at UL in July to divert police from an attempted bank robbery was indicted today in federal court.

Devin Haywood, 30, of Lafayette, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts: attempted bank robbery and using a facility in interstate commerce to willfully make a threat or maliciously convey false information, according to U.S. Attorney Stephanie Finley.

Haywood allegedly used a cell phone to make a bomb threat July 16 that led to the evacuation of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus while police searched the campus and nearby Girard Park. Police recovered a fake bomb at the park.

Haywood also allegedly attempted to rob MidSouth bank on Moss Street the same day. He allegedly hid behind an air conditioning unit outside the bank in the morning of July 16. An employee conducting a security sweep around the exterior of the bank spotted Haywood and fled to their car.

Security video shows a man, allegedly Haywood, chasing the car on foot with a gun in his hand. Police recovered a bag and gloves nearby and found a fingerprint on the gloves matching Haywood.

He and an accomplice tried a similar armed robbery in Gretna, near New Orleans, in 2005. They entered a back door with employees in the morning and stole about $80,000 in cash.

Haywood allegedly shot one of the employees in the back and was charged with attempted murder. But he was convicted of two counts of armed robbery, two counts of aggravated battery and illegal possession of stolen things. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was released in May 2013.

If convicted on the Lafayette charges, Haywood faces 10 years in prison for the bomb threat and 20 years in prison for the attempted bank robbery.