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Stefan Keco, 29, told a Superior Court judge in Paterson on Monday that he sent the texts to Chief Ibrahim Baycora on Feb. 26 “with the purpose to terrorize him and in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror,” Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia Valdes said.
Baycora had been sworn to the position only a few weeks before receiving the threats.
The threats “caused a disruption to the day-to-day operations of the police department,” Paterson Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale said. “He also made threats towards City Hall, causing the police department to institute security measures for both facilities.”
Baycora “has a very demanding job,” Mayor Andre Sayegh added, “and the last thing he needs is his life threatened,”.
Keco has remained in the Passaic County Jail since being arrested and charged 15 months ago following an investigation by city police and including the FBI, prosecutor’s office and other law enforcement agencies.
A grand jury in Paterson returned an indictment in March charging him with making terroristic threats.
Rather than go to trial, Keco took a deal from Valdes’s office, pleading guilty Monday to two counts of making terroristic threats.
Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed scheduled sentencing for May 28.
Senior Passaic County Assistant Prosecutor Vivian Khalil is handling the case.
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