A California man has admitted guilt on two federal charges tied to a ransom demand, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. Derrick Callella, 42, entered the plea today.
Callella lives in Hawthorne, California. The case is being prosecuted in Tucson, Arizona. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the two counts he admitted to involve harassment carried out through a telecommunication device, both connected to the ransom demand.
The U.S. Department of Justice said sentencing is scheduled for September 10, 2026. United States District Judge John C. Hinderaker will preside at that hearing.
Callella's guilty plea covers the pair of federal harassment counts stemming from his use of telecommunications to make the ransom demand, per the U.S. Department of Justice.