By Jim Suhr
The Associated Press
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — A college fraternity president and aspiring rapper who was accused of threatening a “murderous rampage” similar to April’s deadly shooting spree at Virginia Tech pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
A gun dealer had alerted federal authorities about Olutosin Oduwole, 22, saying he had seemed overly anxious to get an online shipment of semiautomatic weapons, according to an affidavit filed in court by a police detective.
The Southern Illinois University student was arrested Friday after police said they found a handwritten note in his car demanding payment to a PayPal account, threatening that “if this account doesn’t reach $50,000 in the next 7 days then a murderous rampage similar to the VT shooting will occur at another highly populated university. THIS IS NOT A JOKE!”
In the note, the writer suggested the shooting would target a “prestigious” university, but that word was crossed out. There was no direct mention of the 13,500-student Southern Illinois University in this city about 20 miles northeast of St. Louis.
Oduwole was charged Tuesday with making a terrorist threat. He was being held on a total of $1.1 million bail. He also faced unrelated theft and fraud charges that had kept him in jail since his arrest. Those charges accuse him of selling an M-16 machine gun online, but failing to ship the weapon to the buyer.
During a brief court appearance, attorney Patricia Dennis entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. She declined to comment on the charges.
Friends and a former attorney for Oduwole called the arrest a misunderstanding that might be related to the sometimes violent lyrics of his rap songs.
John Cernkovich, an attorney who until Wednesday represented Oduwole on theft and fraud charges, said he had been told the threatening note was on the same sheet of paper that included rap lyrics.
“I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist, but I understand that in this environment — post-Sept. 11 — authorities don’t take any chances,” Cernkovich said. “Unfortunately, my client now is in custody because of that.”
Police said they found a loaded gun in Oduwole’s campus apartment. According to a search warrant, police also seized a photograph of Oduwole flashing gang signs, a camcorder and U.S. and Nigerian passports. The court documents did not list the name on those passports.
Cernkovich said Oduwole is a U.S. citizen and described him as “pretty normal.”
While the university listed Oduwole’s permanent address as Maplewood, N.J., a woman identifying herself as his mother works in the St. Louis area, and a Facebook page appearing to belong to Oduwole says he’s from St. Louis.
A Facebook page for a Tosin Oduwole at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville said he worked at Olad Adult Day Program in Pagedale, Mo. A woman reached at the business identified herself as Oduwole’s mother, but would not give her name. She said she believes the arrest is tied to his lyrics, which she acknowledged were violent.
“He liked to write music, not to hurt anybody,” she said.
Steve Holeman, 24, a Southern Illinois University senior and Oduwole’s friend, said Wednesday the matter was “absolutely a misunderstanding.” He declined to discuss it further.
Oduwole, who is president of the local chapter of the Iota Phi Theta fraternity, first attended the school during the 2005-06 year but sat out a year on academic probation, university spokesman Greg Conroy said.