'Drunkenstein' Super Bowl Massacre Plotter Gets a Year and a Day in Prison

PHOENIX – An Arizona man accused of planning to kill people at this year's Super Bowl in Glendale was sentenced Monday to a year and a day in prison.

Kurt William Havelock, 36, was accused of bringing a semiautomatic rifle and 200 rounds of ammunition to a parking lot near University of Phoenix Stadium where pre-game activities were happening. He also sent letters to major media outlets promising to be "swift and bloody."

Havelock didn't attack, however, and he later turned himself in to Tempe police. He was found guilty in June of six counts of mailing threatening communications.

During his sentencing hearing Monday, Havelock told U.S. District Judge Roslyn Silver that he was sorry, and that he hopes to again find a job and take care of his children.

"I should have never done those things," Havelock said in a soft voice. "I apologize to my family for all the trouble I've caused."

Havelock's mother, father and other family members wept in the courtroom gallery.

"My son needs counseling, not imprisonment," Havelock's mother, Jan, told the judge.

Defense lawyer Jeffrey Williams said Havelock never disputed the allegations, but he still may appeal his conviction and sentence. If Havelock didn't come forward, "those letters would have been considered the ramblings of a lunatic and not taken seriously," Williams said in court.

Havelock, a former restaurant owner, told the FBI he was angry over the Tempe City Council's rejection of his liquor application, according to court documents. He was reportedly going to call the place "Drunkenstein's."

In response, he mailed an eight-page manifesto to various media outlets, promising what he called an "econopolitical confrontation."

"I will not be bullied by the financial institutions and their puppet politicians," Havelock wrote, according to an FBI complaint.

"I will test the theory that bullets speak louder than words. Perhaps the blood of the inculpable will cause a paradigm shift. ... Someone has to start the revolution but no one wants to be first."

Havelock had faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But Silver gave him a reduced sentence to reflect that he turned himself in, cooperated with authorities and took responsibility for his actions.

"These issues are never clear," the judge said before handing down her sentence. "There was a threat to the public, even if it was for a short time. But Mr. Havelock has shown remorse. Had he not turned himself in, the FBI probably would have found him, but they wouldn't be likely to charge him."

Havelock also will be credited for the nearly nine months he's already spent in prison and an additional sentence reduction that will allow him to get out as early as mid-November, Williams said.

Havelock also will serve three years of supervised release in which he'll get counseling.