Prisoner Convicted of Mailing Threats to Murder a Federal Judge

FRESNO, Calif. — After a two-day trial, a federal jury found Cyrus Dennis Braswell, 57, guilty today of three counts of mailing threatening communications, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, a federal judge in the District of Alaska sentenced Braswell in 1998. Thereafter, while an inmate at Mendota Federal Correctional Institute in Fresno County, Braswell mailed communications to Alaska in which he threated to murder the judge after he got out of prison.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura D. Withers and Kirk E. Sherriff are prosecuting the case.

Braswell is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on May 6, 2019. Braswell faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. Braswell currently remains in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons.