This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah man who called in a bomb threat to a hospital last year in a purported effort to delay the delivery of his child until he could get there from Idaho was sentenced Tuesday to prison.
Michael Sherman Morlang, 27, of Payson, was indicted in November for maliciously conveying false information about explosive materials.
In February, Morlang pleaded guilty as charged in U.S. District Court.
The crime carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
On Tuesday, Judge Ted Stewart sentenced Morlang to 51 months in a federal prison, followed by three years probation which includes substance abuse evaluation and mental health treatment.
According to court records, Sevier Valley Medical Center in Richfield received the bomb threat the morning of Sept. 17 in a call from a number with an Idaho area code.
Nurses told responding police officers they suspected the caller was the husband of a patient who had just given birth because the man was trying to get them to wait on the birth until he arrived from Idaho.
Richfield police Officer Alan DeMille said in an affidavit that a nurse told investigators "she spoke with Michael, who was extremely upset that they were going forward with the birth."
A short time later, DeMille said, Morlang called the nurses' station asking about his wife.
"I was handed the phone and spoke with him," DeMille said in his affidavit. "He told me that he was in Idaho on a bus headed back to Boise. I asked why he made the threat and he acted like he didn't know what I was talking about and soon ended the conversation."
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the medical center evacuated everyone possible after receiving the threat and remained on lockdown for several hours. People seeking emergency care, including patients in ambulances, had to be diverted to another hospital.