A 44-year-old Cheyenne man who called in a bomb threat to the Laramie County court complex to delay her trial took a plea deal Thursday in exchange for testifying against her.
Ezekiel Hernandez also had been charged in a separate case, accused of helping that same friend, Melinda Hurt of Fort Collins, Colorado, steal from his roommate.
Under the deal, Hernandez won’t get prison time and must provide “complete and truthful testimony” against Hurt.
She’s accused of using Hernandez’s 59-year-old female roommate’s ID and banking information to get an Xbox video game console at a rental center for a total of $1,643 as well as making other purchases and withdrawals using the 59-year-old’s debit card and money.
Hernandez pleaded guilty to accessory, aiding and abetting, which carries a potential of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The deal made with Laramie County Deputy District Attorney Jack Hatfield calls for Hernandez to receive a suspended prison sentence of three to five years and three years of supervised probation.
Charges of witness intimidation and making terroristic threats would be dropped if Hernandez fulfills his plea deal obligations, court records show.
The cases against Hernandez began after incidents Sept. 16, 2024, related to the bomb threat and Jan. 19, 2025, in the aiding and abetting theft case.
A police affidavit states that on Sept. 16, someone phoned the state’s “Safe2Tell” tip line and reported that there was a bomb in the Laramie County Government Complex.
The caller identified the person making the threat as “Gilbert Hyemm” and the tipster said he had not heard from “Hyemm” in several hours.
Bomb Threat As Jury Trial Began
A check of the tipster’s phone number showed it belonged to Hernandez.
Courthouse security personnel learned from an officer that he was an acquaintance of Hurt whose “jury trial was starting that day in District Court.”
Bomb dogs and their law enforcement handlers were called to sweep the courthouse, but the decision was made not to evacuate the building, the affidavit states.
Hurt was found guilty of forgery and unauthorized use of personal identifying information.
In an investigation by law enforcement and eventual interview March 11, 2025, Hernandez told an investigator that the bomb threat was Hurt’s idea.
“According to Hernandez, the plan was to play a prerecorded message that said there was a bomb at the Laramie County Court House,” the affidavit states. “He did not say their intention, but Hurt told him to make the call while she was in court, then later said he was to make the call during sentencing.”
Hernandez told the investigator that he called Safe2Tell and placed the message from his phone.
And Theft
In the theft case, police were called Jan. 10 by the daughter of Hernandez’s roommate after she discovered purchase transactions in Fort Collins and Cheyenne that her mother did not make as well as withdrawals from her mother’s bank account Dec. 5, 2024, of $405 and $705 that her mother did not transact.
The report came just after Hernandez had moved into the home with her mother. The affidavit states Hurt was a frequent guest of Hernandez.
On Dec. 18, 2024, the order for the Xbox was made and delivered to the home that Hernandez shared with the woman for an agreed rental total of $1,643. The affidavit states that Hernandez received the delivery and signed the receipt.
On Jan 21, a rental company employee went to the home to talk about a missing payment on the Xbox. The 59-year-old woman became upsetthat her ID, phone and purse were missing as well as her bank account.
She said she had never done business with the rental store.
Rental store staff showed her screenshots from the store’s messaging application that had her ID and the order to purchase and “have the Xbox delivered while her son is at school.”
The affidavit also stated that other purchases made with Hernandez’s roommate’s debit card included hiking boots from a Cheyenne business as well as a smart TV from another Cheyenne business.
There were also multiple purchases at a Fort Collins doughnut shop that is 500 feet from Hurt’s apartment, the affidavit states.
Additionally, the affidavit states that the daughter of Hernandez’s 59-year-old roommate had her income tax filing rejected by the IRS after claiming her mom as a dependent because her mom had already been claimed as a dependent on another tax form.
Hernadez told an investigator that he “might have” claimed the 59-year-old, but that Hurt filed his taxes for him.
On Feb. 23, 2025, when officers made an arrest of Hernandez after seeing Hurt enter his residence, Hernandez came to the door and surrendered. They found Hurt hiding in a closet in the bathroom, the affidavit states.
Hurt has pleaded not guilty to seven charges related to influencing a jury and tampering with witnesses, terroristic threats, three counts of theftand one count of interference with a police officer.
Her trial scheduled for Aug. 5.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
