Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13 Filed 04/10/18 Page 1 of 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA No. 3:18-mj-611(JAM)

v.

TODD MILLER April 10,2018

MOTION TO RESEAL ORIGINAL COMPLAINT & AFFIDAVIT

AND PUBLI LY FlLfi REDACT_E VB I INSTEAD

The United States respectfully moves this Court to order re-sealed forthwith, the original

Complaint and Affidavit and the Search Warrant in this case, which were among the documents

ordered unsealed upon the government's oral motion to unseal the case in open court at this morning's

initial presentment hearing. As reasons for this request, the government states that there was one item

of personal identifying information that the government should have redacted from the Affidavit copy

and from the Search Warrant copy for public filing, which item now has been redacted from each itein

in the attached copies.

Respectfully submitted,

JOHN H. DURHAM
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on Aprill 0, 2018, I caused a copy of foregoing pleading and attachments to
be manually filed at U.S. District Court. Upon uploading to the PACER filing system, notice of this
pleading will be sent by e-mail to all parties by operation of the Court's electronic filing system or by
mail to anyone unable to accept electronic filing as indicated on the Notice of Electronic Filing.
Parties may access' this filing through the Court's CM/ECF System. A copy of the foregoing pleading
also is being sent via E-mail to counsd for the defend an! T cy H mTracy Hayes@fd.org.

'Assi, tan J.S. Attorney ·

 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-1 Filed 04/10/18 Page 1 of 2

..
' AO 93 (Rev. 01109) Search and Seizure Warrant

UNITED STATES DISTRJCT COURT

for the
District of Connecticut

In the Matter of the Search of )

(Briefly describe the property to be searched )
OJ' identijj•the pe1·so.n by name and address) ) Case No.
)
Cell phone in the possession of
)
TODD MILLER incident to his arrest
)

SEARCH AND SEIZURE WARRANT

To: Any authorized law enforcement officer

An application by a federal law enforcement officer or an attorney for the government requests the search
of the following person or property located in the District of Connecticut
(identifY the person or describe the property to be searched and give its location):

Cell phone in the possession of TODD MILLER incident to his arrest.

The person or property to be searched, described above, is believed to conceal (identifY the persoi1 or describe the
property to be seized): .
Information confirming that the phone is assigned the number I and call history information showing that
on March 18, 2018, the phone was used to place a call to the New Jersey 911 dispatch center. The authorization to
search the phone is limited to the attempt to find those two items of information.
I ftnd that the affidavit(s), or any recorded testimony, estab~ish probable cause to search and seize' the person or
property.

YOU ARE COMMANDED to execute this warrant on or before 4)11/if416

(not to exceed 10 days)
'ilf in the daytime 6:00a.m. to 10 p.m. 0 at any time in the day or night as I find reasonable cause has been
established.

Unless delayed notice is authorized below, yQu must give a copy of the warrant and a receipt for the pi"operty
taken to the person from whom, or from whose premises, the property was taken, or leave the copy and receipt at the
place where the property was taken.
The officer executing this wan·ant, or an officer present during the execution of the wanant, must prepare an
inventmy as required by law and promptly return this warrant and inventory to United States Magistrate Judge
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer
(name)

0 I find that immediate notification may have an adverse result listed in 18 U.S.C. § 2705 (except for delay
of trial), and authorize th~ officer executing this wanant to delay notice to the person who, or whose property, will be
searched oi· seized (check the appropriate box) Ofor days (not to exceed 30).
Ountil, the facts justifying, the late!' specific date of

Date and time issued: /s/ Jeffrey Alker Meyer, USDJ

City and state: New Haven, Connecticut Hon. Jeffrey Alker Meyer, U.S. District Judge
Printed name and title
 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-1 Filed 04/10/18 Page 2 of 2

AO 93 (Rev. 01/09) Search and Seizure Warrant {Page 2)

Return
Date and time wan·ant executed: Copy ofwanant and inventmy left with:
IAfffT(/)IJ
Jnvc.otbry made il~ the presence of :

Jtwent t'Y of tbt>: property tala:n and name of any 1' 1'S n(s) s i!led;

Certification

I declare under penalty of pe1jury that this inventmy is coll'ect and was retumed along with the m:iginal wan-ant
to the designated judge.

Date:
Executing office/' 's signatlil'e

Printed name and title

 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 1 of 10

AD 91 (Rev. 11111) Criminal Complaint

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

for the
District of Connecticut

United States of America )

v.
Todd Miller
)
)
)
Case N0 '. I 0rrrr IllI~ :1/J1(}
)
)
)
Defendant(s)

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
I, the ~omplainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge and belief
On or about the date(s) of March 18, 2018 in the .county of Fairfi~ld in the
_ _ _ _ _ _ Dish·ict of _ _ C
_ o_n_n_e_c.:..ctic_u.:.t:._ _ , the defendant(s) violated:

Code Section Offense Description

18 U.S.C. § 1038(a)(1) False Information and Hoaxes
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This criminal complaint is based on these facts: :-ic:
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·IYf Continued on the attached sheet.

Complainant's signature

FBI Task Force Officer Daniel Sentementes

Printed name and title

Swom to before me and signed in my presence.

Date:
/s/ Jeffrey Alker Meyer, USDJ
Judge 's s{gr/UtwV'

City and state: New Haven, Connecticut Hon. Jeffrey Alker Meyer, U.S. District Judge
Printed name and title
 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 2 of 10

AO 106 (Rev. 04/10) Application for a Search Wammt

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

for the
District of Connecticut

In the Matter of the Search of

I
(Briefly describe the property to be searched
or identify !he person by name and address)
Cell phone in the possession of
TODD MILLER incident to his arrest
)

APPLICATION FOR A SEARCH WARRANT

I, a federal law enforcement officer or an attomey for the government, request a search walTant and state under
penalty of perjury that I have reason to believe that on the following person or property (idenlify the person or describe the
p1·operty to be searched and give its location):

located in the District of Connecticut , there is now concealed (identifY the

----------------
person or describe the property to be seized):
-----------------------
Cell phone in the possession of TODD MILLER incident to his arrest.

The basis for the search under Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(c) is (check one or more):
~evidence of a crime;
0 contraband, fruits of crime, or other items illegally possessed;
0 property designed for use, intended for use,. or used in committing a crime;
0 a person to be anested or a person who is unl1:iwfully restrained.

The search is related to a violation of:

Code Section Offense Description
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The application is based on these facts: no
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~ Continued on the attached sheet.

0 Delayed notice of ___ days (give exact ending date if more than 30 days: ..,....,;;z---,;7-----
under 18 U.S.C. § 31 03a, the basis of which · et fmih on the attached

FBI Task Force Officer Daniel Sentementes

Printed name and title

Sworn to before me and signed in my presence.

Date: /s/ Jeffrey Alker Meyer, USDJ

JiJdge 's signP,,'ll

City and state: New Haven, Connecticut Hon. Jeffrey Alker Meyer, U.S. District Judge
Printed name and title
 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 3 of 10

STATE OF CONNECTICUT

ss: New Haven

COUNTY OF NEW HAVEN

AFFIDAVIT OF DANIEL SENTEMENTES

I, Daniel Se:n.tementes, being duly swom, depose and state as follows:

1. I am a Task Force Officer ("TFO") with the New Haven Division of the Federal

Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") and have been assigned to the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force

("JTTF") since approximately June 2016. During the course of my assigmnent with the JTTF, I

have conducted investigations regarding material support of terrorism, weapons violations, and

other international and domestic terrorism matters. Also, from February 2009 to the present, I

have been employed by the Yale University Police Department, where I have investigated

narcotics cases, weapons violations, sexual assaults and other criminal violations. As part ofiny

JTTF responsibilities, I am currently assigned to the New Haven FBI's Railroad Liaison Program,

and its Weapons of Mass Destruction Program.

2. As set forth below, there is probable cause to believe that on or about March 18,

2018, TODD MILLER committed a violation of the false infmmation and hoaxes statute, 18

U.S.C. § 1038(a)(l ), by intentionally conveying false but reasonably believable information to law

enforcement authmities in a series of two separate telephone communications, to the effect that an

individual on an Amtrak train trayeling through New Jer~ey, New York, and Connecticut was

can-ying an explosive device.

 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 4 of 10

3. Accordingly, I submit tbis affidavit in support of: (1) a criminal Complaint and

anest warrant for TODD MILLER; and (2) a warrant to search the cell phone associated with the

originating 'number of the telephonic, false explosive report if found to be in

MILLER's possession incident to alTest, for the limited purpose of confirming that it is the same

phone from wbich the false report was called in. In swearing to the truth oftbis affidavit, I rely

on information conveyed to me by other law enforcement officers, written repmis by other law

enforcement officers, interviews I have conducted of witnesses to the events related herein, and

my training and experience. Because tbis affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of

establisbing probable cause for the listed violation, I have not set forth all ofthe information known

to me concerning this investigation; instead, I have set forth sufficient·information to establish

probable cause to issue an arrest wanru:t and Complaint.

4. On the evening of March 18, 2018, an individual identifYing bimself as TODD

MILLER ("MILLER") called a 911 dispatcher in New Jersey and reported that he was on Amtrak

Train #2256 traveling from Washington, DC towards Penn Station in New York City, and that a

female passenger "has a bomb in her bag." The originating number of the call was :

J MILLER desc1ibed the woman as having brown hair and a scarf; he did not provide further

details. As explained below, and as later determined by investigators, MILLER appears to have

been mistaken about the actual train number, insofar as both he and the female passenger in

question actua11y were traveling on Amtrak Train #2258.

5. By the time Amtrak investigators received notice ofthe call and were mobilized to

stop and search Train #2256, it had left Penn Station and was in Connecticut. Amtrak officials

stopped the train at Green's Farm Station in Westport, Connecticut, where passengers were

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 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 5 of 10

directed to disembark, and bomb squad members boarded and searched the train. No evidence

of any explosive device or matedals was detected.

6. During the law enforcement response to Train #225 6 in Westport, an Amtrak police

officer in Connecticut contacted MILLER by telephone, at no. and spoke with him.

MILLER, who provided his name, date ofb:hih, and addresses, said that he had gotten off the train

in New York, but that before then he had been sitting in the First Class section, and described a

white female adult with red han· and a red scarf (diverging from the "brown hair" descdption of

his 911 call). MILLER said that the woman was sitting in the middle of the First Class car; was

carrying a "back bag carry on suitcase with a handle"; kept checking her bag without taking

anything out; kept asking the "red cap" (believed to refer to the F:h·st Class attendant) what the next

stop was; and seemed to want to get off the train and leave her bag behind. The officer detected

slurring in MILLER's voice, and asked if he had consumed alcohol that day; MILLER replied that

he had consumed "one glass of red wine." Asked if he suffered from mental illness, MILLER

replied "no, absolutely not. This is the first time I've ever made a call like this before. I am worried

for everyone on that train. Someone has to check that lady out."

7. Qfficers responding to Tm:h1 #2256 eventually detennined that it was not the train

on which MILLER and the female in question had been b_.avel:h1g. First, no one among the

passengers from Train #2256's First Class car matched MILLER's description of a white female

adult with red hair and a red scarf. Second, the officers learned that Amtrak staff had ordered

MILLER off his train at Penn Station owing to intoxication; but an Amtrak conductor :fi_.om Train

#2256 advised that no such incident had happened on Train #2256 during its Penn Station stop.

Amtrak officers accordingly checked the manifests for other trains running close to the Train

#2256 timetable, and discovered MILLER on the passenger list for Amtrak Train #2258. With

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 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 6 of 10

this information along with the confilmation that no explosive device or materials were on Train

#2256, Amtrak had the latter train re-boarded and cleared to resume its travel.

8. Soon after, Amtrak Train #2258 pulled into Green's Fa1m Station in Westport,

Connecticut, and was stopped, inspected, and eventually found not to contain any explosive

devices or materials. During the stop, Amtrak officers sought out the attendant for the First Class

car, who confirmed that passenger MILLER had been removed in New York owing to his

intoxication. Specifically, the attendant advised that MILLER appeared intoxicated upon

boarding in Washingtoil, and that while on the train, had consumed two glasses of wine and two

"double scotch and soda" drinks. The attendant also advised that MILLER had "exchanged

profanity with a female" 'Yho was sitting in a different row from him in the First Class car. She

matched MILLER's initial description, of a white female with brown hair. The attendant told the

officers her name and identified her for them (hereinafter, the "Subject Female"). The Subject

Female did have a black bag in her possession. While near the Subject Female, one or more

officers detected the smell of alcohol on her; she also stumbled while detraining along with her

fellow passengers, all of whom had been directed to leave the train but to leave their baggage

behind.

9. Off the train, officers approached the Subject Female and asked if she had

experienced any interaction with another passenger; she said "yeah, sort of," and provided a

description of the encounter. The interview was recorded on an officer's body camera; I have

reviewed both the bodycam recording and the officer's written report of the interview, in which

the Subject Female described the following: MILLER had been admonished a couple ·of times
-
by the train attendant for spealdng too loudlr; while MILLER was speaking on his phone, the

Subject Female looked at him, and he said "hey, why are you looking at me?"; she did not respond

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 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 7 of 10

to MILLER; at some point the Subject Female was talking quietly on her phone and said, "I think

I'm going to jump off when we get off in New Y ark City, and try to buy this thing"; MILLER

"sort of latched on to it, saying, 'oh she's speaking so why can't I speak?'" To be clear, the

written report of interview had her saying "I think I'm going to jump off when we get off in New

Y ark City, and tJ.y to hide this thing"; but the bodycam recording makes clear that she said "buy,"

not "hide."

10. After Amtrak Train #225 8 was determined to contain no explosive devices or

materials, it was cleared to resume its travel.

11. More recently, I have conducted follow-up interviews regarding what happened on

AmtJ.·ak Train #2258 before MILLER made his 911 call. I interviewed the First Class car

attendant, who stated among other things: MILLER and the Subject Female had gotten into a
I -

screaming match with each other in the First Class car; there was at least one row of seats between

the positions where MILLER and the Subject Female were respectively seated; the Subject Female

did not appear to be checking her luggage, although she had a pocketbook next to her into which

she periodically reached for items such as her phone; the Subject Female had told the attendant

that she wanted to briefly get off the train in Pem1 Station to buy a calendar, but the attendant
I

advised that she probably would not have tinie to do that and get back on the train before it

departed.

12. I also recently interviewed the Subject Female, who stated among other things: she

was separated from MILLER by more than one row of seats, and given the height of the seat backs,

there was no clear line of sight between them while in sitting positions; she had a purse on the

floor by her feet, into which she occasionally reached for items like her phone) accessories, and

wallet, but those actions would have been difficult to observe from MILLER's seat; she had a

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 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 8 of 10

larger, cany-on tote bag in the overhead rack, but she never reached up or into that \Jag during the

train ride; during the t:Lip, MILLER's behavior was loud and belligerent; she denied having a loud

argument with MILLER, but reported that at some point he directed a comment to her about her

hair; the comment was unwelcome, and she turned to look at MILLER in a non-fiiendly manner;

MILLER responded hostilely, with words to the effect of, "What are you lookin' at?"; later at the

New York Penn Station stop, she did want to step offbriefly to buy a calendar as a gift for a friend;

and she did walk over to the attendant, in a direction away from MILLER, to ask about that.

13. The foregoing facts indicat~ that the Subject Female was not carrying any

explosives; was not checking what MILLER described as her "carry on suitcase with a handle";

was not "checking her bag without taking anything out" as MILLER claimed; would have been

largely or entirely out of MILLER's view unless he repeatedly stood up to. observe her over or

around the intervening seat row(s); and that MILLER and the Subject Female had engaged in a

hostile encounter, apparently initiated by MILLER, which by her recollection amounted to her

rebuffing his social overture and his responding negatively; and that MILLER already had been

manifesting a belligerent behavior 'pattern throughout the trip. Accordingly, the evidence

supports the conclusion that MILLER, motivated by some perceived grudge against the Subject

Female, lmowingly, intentionally, and falsely made an emergency 911 call to law enforcement

accusing her of carrying a bomb; and that when contacted by law enforcement while the public

safety response still was ongoing, made a deliberate choice to continue conveying false

infomution in order to maintain and enhance the believability of his initial false bomb repmt.

14. Amtrak has advised that four trains experienced delays as a result of the response

to MILLER's false explosive report; the following chart lists Amtrak's tally of the delay times and

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 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 9 of 10

the number of passengers aboard each train. I also have included calculations of the cumulative

impact of those delays, by adding up the lost time for all passengers of the four trains:

Train# Delay # Passengers Cumulative delay

2256 1 hour 22 min. 219 299 person-hours
2258 1 hour 5 min . 195 211 person-hours
2275 50 min. 228 190 person-hours
139 27 man. 503 226 person-hours
TOTALS 1,145 926 person-hours

The cumulative 926 person-hours attributable to these forced delays equals 38 and a half days.

Separate and apart from the impacts on passengers ofMlLLER's false explosives report was the

disruption to law enforcement and public agency operations from their necessary response. This

includes deployments of teams of officers and managers from several agencies, including the

following: Metropolitan Transit Authority; Connecticut State Police and members of its Bomb

Squad; Federal Bureau of Investigation Joint Terrorism Task Force and Special Agent Bomb Tech;

Westport, Connecticut Police Department; Metro-North Railroad Repre_sentatives; and Amtrak

Representatives,.

CONCLUSIONS

15. Based on the foregoing, there is probable cause to believe, and I do in fact believe,

that MILLER has committed a violation of federal law, consisting of a violation of the hoax/threat

statute, 18 U.S. C. § 103 8(a)(l ). Accordingly, Itespectfully request that the Court issue a warrant

for the arrest of MILLER.

16. Based on the foregoing, there is probable cause to believe, and I do in fact believe,

that MILLER used a cell phone assigned the number to commit the above offense.

In the event that MII:LER is found to be in possession of a cell phone incident to his arrest, I

respectfully request that the Court issue a warrant to search the phone for the limited purpose of

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 Case 3:18-mj-00611-JAM Document 13-2 Filed 04/10/18 Page 10 of 10

(a) confirming that the phone is assigned that same number, and (b) that the call history documents

the March 18,2018, call to the New Jersey 911 dispatch center.

REQUEST TO SEAL

17. This affidavit and the Complaint it supports contain information concerning an

ongoing criminal investigation and a decision to seek the arrest and charging of a defendant who

is presently at large. Disclosure of the affidavit or Complaint prior to arrest may encourage the

defendant to flee and evade apprehension, and to conceal or destroy inculpatory evidence to which

he may have access. Accordingly, the Government respectfully requests that tlris affidavit, the

Complaint it supports, and the arrest warrant issued thereon be ordered sealed by the Court~ until

further order oftlris Court, except that the arrest warrant may be disclosed to other law enforcement

officers to the extent necessary to locate an~· defend-a-::;

nt~.?'---:;.L(-_--::'7"'"

Daniel Sentementes
Task Force Agent
Federal Bureau ofinvestigation

Swonz,ayd subscribed before me tlris

___]:___J_~-- day of April, 2018.

/s/ Jeffrey Alker Meyer, USDJ

HONORABLE JEJ1FR} ALKER MEYER
UNITED STATES-DISTRICT iUDGE

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