Kenai Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Threatening to Kill State Court Judge’s Family

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that a Kenai man has been sentenced to federal prison for threatening in a 2017 court filing to kill the family of a Superior Court Judge with the State of Alaska.

Steven Bachmeier, 43, of Kenai, was sentenced on Friday, Jan. 10, 2020, by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason to serve five years in prison, which is the maximum sentence allowed by statute, followed by three years of supervised release.  The defendant’s sentencing guideline range was 41 to 51 months’ imprisonment.  After a three-day trial in January 2019, a federal jury convicted Bachmeier of one count of mailing a threatening communication.

According to court documents, during a May 2010 hearing, the Judge denied Bachmeier’s request to withdraw a guilty plea in a felony criminal case.  In response, Bachmeier became angry and threatened to “carve the flesh” from the Judge’s children.  Bachmeier was sentenced to eight years in prison for the charges to which he had pleaded guilty.

In January 2017, the judge was assigned to a new civil case, which Bachmeier initiated to have his name legally changed.  Bachmeier was angry that the same judge had been assigned to preside over his request to change his name, and in response, he mailed in a pleading in which he wrote “I have told her in past I’m going to kill her family, which I still [entend] to do.” (Sic).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Alaska State Troopers, Division of Judicial Services conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anne Veldhuis and Aunnie Steward.