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Backpack threat suspect identified; Details surface on her arrest

Posted at 1:47 PM, Jul 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-19 17:54:58-04

LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- The suspect who police say placed a backpack on the campus of the Denver Federal Center in Lakewood has been identified after officials filed a federal complaint against her. 

Officials say Jessica L. Ciccocioppo, 41, walked onto the campus of the Denver Federal Center and placed a white backpack inside the first gate. 

As a security officer stopped her, Ciccocioppo reportedly told the officer twice "There is a bomb in the bag." 

The statements prompted a large security response, a lockdown and the subsequent arrest of Ciccocioppo. 

In court documents, officers say the woman freely told police information, like the location of her vehicle -- roughly two miles away at a nearby Lowes Home Improvement store on Colfax Avenue. Soon after, she reportedly invoked her Miranda Rights.

Response to the bomb threat prompted the closure of the Federal Center and its surrounding roads for several hours as police detonated the backpack, having performed an x-ray which revealed a cell phone and wiring inside the bag. 

Officials say post-detonation, they located wires, a cell phone and personal documents including a birth certificate, a driver's license and tax documents in her name inside the bag. 

Ciccocioppo now faces charges of conveying false or misleading information threatening an explosive device.The charge could see her behind bars for 5 years with a fine of up to $250,000 if she's found guilty. 

She'll appear in court on Tuesday afternoon. 

MORE | See coverage and tense moments from the police response on Monday here. 

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