Nacogdoches Sheriff Identifies Cody Jinks Concert Caller

The Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) has formally filed charges against a Longview man for threats that were made over the phone in connection to a concert event that was being hosted at the Nacogdoches County Civic Center on October 26th.

Country music singer, Cody Jinks was scheduled to perform at the concert when an employee with the Nacogdoches County Civic Center received an anonymous phone call on the morning of October 26th. The caller made a specific threat that he intended to shoot several people during the concert. The Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office was immediately notified of the threat, and an investigation was immediately started.

Investigators identified that the phone call was made using a VOIP number (voice over internet protocol) through a cell phone app. Investigators identified that the phone used was a prepaid cell phone and found an email account that was linked to the VOIP number.

Investigators determined that the phone was being used somewhere in the Gatesville area but were not able to pin point the exact location. Several subpoenas and search warrants were obtained by NCSO investigators and issued to several different companies in an effort to obtain more information. After hundreds of manpower hours and sifting through numerous documents, investigators were able to find a link to a suspect.

Investigators learned that the suspect was currently incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice at the Alfred Hughes Unit in Gatesville, Texas.  The suspect was identified as Robert Dulaney, 45. Dulaney has been in prison since 2006. Investigators learned that while Dulaney has been serving his prison sentence he has had several reported violations of being caught with a cell phone.

After identifying this information, investigators were able to obtain more links that Robert Dulaney was the person responsible for creating the account that the phone call was made from. Investigators were left with the task to prove that Delaney was actually the person that made the phone call and not another prisoner inside the unit.

On Thursday, November 14, two investigators with NCSO went to the Alfred Hughes Unit in Gatesville to conduct an interview with the suspect.  While speaking with Dulaney he was very cooperative with law enforcement. Investigators obtained a full confession from him. Dulaney went into several details of where he made the phone call from inside the prison, using a cell phone and told investigators exactly what he said over the phone. What Dulaney told investigators corroborated with other facts in this investigation.

Investigators requested that prison authorities conduct another search of Dulaney’s housing area while investigators interviewed Dulaney. During the search, a cell phone was discovered in the door frame of Dulaney’s prison cell.

Dulaney stated that he had access to Facebook while using his cell phone in prison. He gained information that his girlfriend was going to attend the Cody Jinks concert in Nacogdoches which angered him. Dulaney stated that he called two different county offices in Nacogdoches until he spoke with someone at the civic center. Dulaney then made his threat over the phone in an attempt to have the concert canceled.

Investigators with NCSO are working with the Office of the Inspector General on the case. A warrant has been issued for Dulaney for Terroristic Threat a 3^rd degree felony.  Dulaney will be bench warranted back to Nacogdoches County to answer for this charge. The OIG’s office is likely to pursue charges on Dulaney for having a prohibited item in a correctional facility which will be prosecuted in Coryell County, Texas.

The Cody Jinks concert has been rescheduled for Saturday, January 25, 2020 at the Nacogdoches County Civic Center.

Sheriff Jason Bridges stated that we are glad to see that the outcome was not a serious threat to our citizens. We are sad to see that someone would use such poor and selfish judgement that had a large impact on thousands of people that were planning on attending this concert. Many people had traveled a great distance to attend the event.

Although Dulaney is currently serving a prison sentence, we will continue to do our due diligence on this investigation to make sure that he is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. In today’s society we have to treat any type of threat with the highest priority and validity until we can prove otherwise.

The Texas Rangers and the Nacogdoches Precinct 1 Constable Office assisted in the investigation.