Man who made bomb threat at Sky Harbor will not face felony charge

PHOENIX — A man who shut down part of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s busiest terminals by claiming he had a bomb will not face a felony charge.

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said it determined the threat made by 61-year-old John Lincoln Nichols on July 7 did not meet the conditions of a hoax charge.

“In this particular case just looking at the evidence that was given to us, the submittal of the case, we did not have those required elements,” spokeswoman Amanda Jacinto said.

Jacinto would not go into further detail, saying it could give people ideas.

“What we try to do is not be overly specific, we don’t want to give anybody a blueprint as to how to avoid meeting all things we would look at in a charging situation,” she said. “So we’re always hesitant to break down what we’re looking for specifically.”

Nichols was arrested after making the threat to a Southwest Airlines agent. Part of Terminal 4 was closed for hours.

A bomb squad, two fire departments and Sky Harbor’s full complement of officers responded to the threat.

Court documents showed Nichols was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but did not give further details.

Nichols is a Navy veteran who lives in Temecula, Calif.

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