Former NMSU student pleads guilty in online threat case

A former New Mexico State University student has pleaded guilty to hindering an investigation into an online threat to shoot up the school last year.

Prosecutors say 19-year-old Zachary Milton Hess of Las Cruces pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to a misdemeanor.

He was charged with being an accessary after the fact to the interstate transmission of an extortionate communication.

Under terms of his plea agreement, Hess will be sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $78,000 in restitution to cover the school’s cost in responding to the threat.

Hess was arrested last Aug. 25.

Authorities say someone threatened to shoot up the NMUS campus within three days during an internet chat on May 27. An FBI investigation linked the threat to Hess’ home computer.