Will appeal decision

An Ironton man will spend the next three years in prison for an incident that he said was “totally misinterpreted.”

David Laber, 40, of 152 Township Road 606, was sentenced Wednesday in Lawrence County Common Pleas court for making threats to members of management at Liebert Corp., as well as threatening to place bombs in the Ironton-based business.

Laber, a former employee of Liebert, was found guilty of third-degree making terrorists threats at a jury trial on Oct. 22.

At the sentencing Wednesday, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mack Anderson asked that Laber be sentenced to serve the maximum prison time, three years, saying the man has shown no “genuine remorse” and “a lesser sentence would demean the seriousness of the offense to the community.”

Laber’s attorney, Scott Evans, maintained his client demonstrated no remorse “because he genuinely believes he is innocent.”

Evans also said Laber was convicted “based on very minimal evidence.”

Laber addressed the court also, saying the incident was “blown out of proportion” and that the witness in the case misunderstood what he said.

Ultimately, Judge Charles Cooper agreed with the prosecution and sentenced Laber to three years in prison.

“I do feel like this was the worst form of this offense, making terroristic threats, because of the detail and the description of what was being considered here,” Cooper said.

Laber said he wanted to appeal the ruling and Cooper said he would appoint another attorney by the end of the week.

Laber was arrested Aug. 1 after a fellow employee told authorities the man allegedly had told her he had thought about shooting people who worked for the company, specifically naming two members of management.

According to an Ironton Police Department report, Laber asked the co-worker “if she ever thought about putting bombs in Liebert.” Laber reportedly told his co-worker he would “start with the front office” and would do it “like the guy in Colorado,” referring to a mass shooting in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., July 20.