Police say Gilbert man Austin Curtis admitted sending a former classmate "about 9 million messages" before he was arrested on stalking and terrorist-threat charges.

Curtis reportedly told detectives his threats were First Amendment "jokes." Arizona's terrorist-threat statute does not care much for that defense when the words come with a stockpile of weapons and a trip to the target's front door. The preliminary hearing on Oct. 22 is where prosecutors first have to show probable cause.

Austin Jay Curtis, 32, of Gilbert, faces felony charges of making a terrorist threat and stalking, plus a misdemeanor count of threatening and intimidating, according to Maricopa County court documents reported by FOX 10 Phoenix. A judge set his bond at $75,000 cash and ordered that, if he is released, he wear an ankle monitor, follow a curfew and have no contact with the woman.

Police were called to a Chandler neighborhood late Sunday night, Oct. 11, after the woman reported that Curtis came to her home, shouted her name and left several packages outside her door, FOX 10 Phoenix reported. Because he had allegedly referred to bombs in earlier voice recordings, a bomb squad checked the bags and found no explosives, but did find several knives, a set of keys, dog waste bags and other items. The woman told investigators she went to high school with Curtis more than a decade ago, was never friends with him and had not been in contact for years. She had filed a harassment report against him in July.

According to the court records described by FOX 10 Phoenix, she received more than 100 voicemails and social media messages, some containing violent threats against her, and one warning that he planned to drive a U-Haul into a Pride parade and open fire. The next day, while she was with detectives, Curtis called her phone repeatedly, and an officer heard him say he was "obsessed" with her and had found her address online. Chandler officers arrested him that evening at his Gilbert apartment.

In a post-arrest interview, police say Curtis estimated he had sent her "about 9 million messages" over 18 months, blamed heavy Adderall use for leaving him unable to separate reality from delusion, called the threats jokes and said he was surprised it took this long to be arrested. A search of his home turned up several firearms, including an assault-style rifle, FOX 10 Phoenix reported. He has a status conference Oct. 19 and a preliminary hearing Oct. 22. A charge is not a conviction. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.