An Edgartown man who staged a bomb threat at the Vineyard Haven Steamship Authority terminal in 2025 pleaded guilty to several charges in court this week but will not face any jail time. 

David Capato, 58, pleaded guilty Wednesday to making a bomb threat, disorderly conduct, improper storage of a firearm, witness intimidation and threat to commit a crime. He was given five years probation and ordered to go to mental health counseling, among several other conditions. 

Police say Mr. Capato, a former New York City cop, threatened to “vaporize” police officers at the Steamship Authority terminal during a prolonged standoff on Jan. 15, 2025. 

The incident began to unfold when Mr. Capato called the police himself and told them he found an unloaded gun. When police arrived, they saw him put a firearm in a blue USPS mailbox near the Water street terminal and he retreated in a vehicle parked outside the terminal. There he became uncooperative and told police he had explosives and said he would set them off if they came any closer.

Police said they found an M4 assault rifle in the vehicle, large bags of wood pellets and a can of gasoline.

Mr. Capato’s attorney Robert Moriarty said at Wednesday’s court hearing that his client was having a mental crisis at the time and was sorry that he put police officers’ lives in danger. Mr. Capato has received medical treatment since then and this case was one of “human frailty,” Mr. Moriarty said.

“He is a prime candidate for rehabilitation,” Mr. Moriarty said. “He is beyond remorseful.” 

Mr. Moriarty called on Barnstable Superior Court judge Elaine Buckley, who was presiding over the case, to consider Mr. Capato’s lack of a criminal record, mental condition and past service in her sentencing. 

One charge of felony possession of a firearm was dropped, and the initial indictment of bomb threat to cause serious public alarm was downgraded to a felony bomb threat charge. 

For the bomb threat and witness intimidation charges, Judge Buckley granted Mr. Capato a rare continue without a finding despite his plea, meaning the charges would be dropped if he completes his five-year probation without incident. 

Assistant district attorney John Wheatley objected to the arrangement, saying these were serious charges and Mr. Capato put Tisbury and state police officers in harm’s way. Mr. Wheatley even consulted with the Island police chiefs about what they thought of the matter and they agreed that a guilty finding was more appropriate.

Judge Buckley said this case raised special circumstances because Mr. Capato’s mental state at the time, his past experience as a law enforcement officer and his work to get his life back together after the incident. 

She said that her sentence should not minimize what happened at the Steamship Authority, but this was the path to rehabilitation and justice.