BREEZEWOOD - A Bedford County man is in jail awaiting a hearing scheduled for today, after he allegedly threatened on Dec. 20 to massacre people at the market where he worked and the bank where he cashed his paychecks.
Steven Andrew Miller, 51, of Breezewood complained to a teller at the Susquehanna Bank branch in East Providence Township that his paycheck from Weis Markets was insufficient for the hours he'd worked, state police Trooper Bradford Codd said.
Miller allegedly told the teller he would go to the Everett Weis store, shoot people inside and take their money, then return to the bank to kill more people, Codd said in a news release.
Miller allegedly said the massacre would be "like at that school the other day," a reference to the Dec. 14 school massacre in Newtown, Conn., Bedford County District Attorney Bill Higgins said.
"It wasn't being loud - he was just making statements," Codd said.
After receiving reports of the alleged threat, state police troopers stood guard at the store and bank while investigators sought Miller.
Officers found him at a Sheetz store in Bedford, police said, where he was arrested without incident.
Police filed two terroristic-threats charges - each a felony - and a disorderly conduct citation.
Miller wasn't carrying any guns at the time, and there's no indication he had any at his home, Codd said.
In a news release, Higgins said authorities would take Miller's alleged threats seriously, regardless of his ability to carry them out.
"If Miller thought this was all some sort of twisted joke, he will soon find out that he is the only one laughing," Higgins said in a written statement.
Miller remains in jail in lieu of $150,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m. today at Bedford County Central Court.
Mirror Staff Writer Ryan Brown is at 946-7457.
