Man who threatened president arrested in Laughlin

Saturday, June 6, 2009 | 10:32 p.m.

Earlier story

A man who is accused of making death threats against President Barack Obama was arrested Friday night in Laughlin by Metro Police and federal agents.

Daniel James Murray, 36, was arrested about 7 p.m. in a parking lot of a casino in Laughlin, about 90 miles southeast of Las Vegas, Assistant U.S. Attorney Barbara Bearnson said.

At Zion First National Bank in St. George on May 19, Murray asked if the bank was solvent and predicted that citizens would lose their money, court documents said. Eight days later Murray returned to the bank and asked withdraw $12,000, but he did not have proper identification, the Secret Service said. He is then alleged to have said that if he didn't receive the money, someone would die. At that point a bank manager allowed tellers to give him cash in bills smaller than $50.

As a teller counted the money for him, Murray said that "We are on a mission to kill the president of the United States," court documents said.

He returned to the bank and withdrew another $72,000 and closed his account, the court documents from Salt Lake City said.

Murray did not resist authorities who arrested him Friday night in the parking lot of the Riverside Hotel and Casino in Laughlin.

Murray is expected to be in court on Monday.

In the court documents, Murray is said to have eight guns registered to him. He has ties to New York, California, Texas and Utah, in addition to his travels in Nevada.

Murray is originally from upstate New York. The felony charge of threatening the president's life was filed in Salt Lake City.

Former neighbors of Murray said he was known as "Cape Man," in New York, because he walked around the neighborhood in a cape.

Discussion: 4 comments so far…

By Mike123

6/6/09 at 11:08 p.m.

Suggest removal

This guy has been clinically schizo for a while. How he never ended up in the loony system is beyond me.

Nuttier than a fruitcake
By mred

6/6/09 at 11:33 p.m.

Suggest removal

I bet he is a talk radio junkie like McVey.
By LasVegas2009

6/7/09 at 12:26 p.m.

Suggest removal

Well it was Ronald Regan that shut down the loony bins so this is the result. Mental patients walking the streets and forming master plans to over throw the government. Im surprised we dont see more of this kind of thing.
By GunslingerA10

6/8/09 at 7:19 a.m.

Suggest removal

Isn't that something, A man walks into a bank, asked for his money, they tell him no, he gets indignant; they gave him some of his money ($12,000 in bills smaller than $50's), without proper ID no less. So let me understand this, they gave him money anyway, from who's account then if they didn't know who he was. He returns for the rest of his money, closes his account because of poor service and goes to Las Vegas for a good time vacation.

Now the bank say's, he-said-they-said, do they have it on tape; I hear a law suit coming. That Bank is just using the system to exact punishment, just out of spite that he closed his account, what an evil bank, and to think it has a name like Zion, what an oxymoron.

Ten dollars to a doughnut, he could have borrowed any amount against his account and paid interest to them and they would all have been laughing about anything he may have said. The bank officers may have even said a thing or two under their voice siding with him, just one big fest, but withdraw that much money and it is like the pulling the trains emergency brake cable. Hold on a minute, we are a credit society, you are not allowed to walk around with that much money, my #@%*, use a banking instrument and pay us to use it. Banking rules as they are require anyone withdrawing or depositing any amount in excess of $4,000 to be reported to the IRS, I believe it was $10,000 prior to 9-11 (need ref.). Casino's have similar rules, now, which require reporting any pay-out over $2,000 (need ref).

Bottom Line, everyone is easy to take your money, just not easy to give it back.