Man: Mall attack post made in 'heat of the moment'

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A man pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct Tuesday for writing on a newspaper Web site that he was going to shoot up a shopping mall one day after a shooting spree in another Washington state town.

Jeffrey Gargaro, 28, of Blaine, was initially charged with felony harassment for making threats to kill, but agreed to a plea deal on the reduced charge, a misdemeanor that carries a $250 fine.

He agreed to pay nearly $1,200 in restitution to police for the comment he made on The Bellingham Herald's Web site last month.

He pleaded guilty with a deferred sentence, which means that the conviction will be cleared from his record if he pays his legal obligations and stays on good behavior until next April.

"This was a very good way to resolve the case without exposing Mr. Gargaro to the risk of jail time and a felony conviction," Gargaro's lawyer, Jeffrey Lustick, said.

Gargaro and Lustick had sought to fight the charge on free-speech grounds, arguing that Gargaro was making a sarcastic point and never intended to hurt or threaten anyone.

In the comment posted September 3, Gargaro wrote that he'd shoot up the Sunset Square shopping center in Bellingham "just for the hell of it."

Just a day earlier, Isaac Zamora, 28, shot six people in a rampage near the town of Alger, 70 miles north of Seattle, investigators said.

Described by his family as mentally disturbed, Zamora was captured after a police chase and charged with six counts of murder.

"My comments were made in the heat of the moment and were inartfully stated," Gargaro told the court, according to an excerpt released by his lawyer. "Upon reflection, I can see why the police were concerned about what I said."

An officer in St. Louis saw Gargaro's post and pointed it out to Bellingham police.

Prosecutors did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

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