Crank call to Gateway mall from lands man in jail, police say

SALT LAKE CITY — A man who police say made a bomb threat at The Gateway mall because he didn't like a customer service representative on the phone was easily caught after investigators traced the number to the man's office.

A man called Gateway security Friday afternoon and told them there was a bomb in a vehicle parked somewhere in the parking structure that would go off in 30 minutes, said Salt Lake police detective Pat Wilkinson.

The caller reportedly didn't believe the customer service representative he had just talked to by phone had treated him nicely enough, Wilkinson said.

Dispatchers traced the call back to Mountain West Material in Murray. Detectives found the man still sitting at his desk, and the Gateway numbers he allegedly had just called were still on his phone screen, Wilkinson said.

Jeffrey Strobell, 30, was arrested for investigation of making terrorist threats.

— Pat Reavy