AMARILLO, TX—A federal grand jury
returned an indictment yesterday charging Peter J. Madrid, III, 38, of
Albuquerque, New Mexico, with two counts of making threats against a federal
employee and one count of intimidating or interfering with a federal employee,
announced U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.
Madrid was arrested July 26, 2012, on a related charge outlined in a federal
criminal complaint and was later released on bond. His arraignment is set for
Tuesday, August 14, 2012, at 9:30 a.m., in federal court in Amarillo, Texas.
Madrid is an engineer employed with the
U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Office in
Amarillo.
The indictment alleges that in June and
July 2012, Madrid threatened to assault and murder another BLM employee with
the intent to retaliate against him for the performance of his official duties.
The indictment also alleges that during the same time period, Madrid forcibly
opposed, impeded, intimidated, and interfered with other BLM employees while
they were engaged in performing their official duties.
According to the criminal complaint
filed in the case, the investigation began in April 2012 when two BLM employees
advised the FBI that Madrid was talking about killing them and other BLM
employees, and they feared Madrid would follow through on his statements. One
of these individuals had reported Madrid to BLM management for inappropriate
speech and action toward female BLM employees, which angered Madrid. The
complaint further states that a manager at BLM informed the FBI that Madrid had
been making threatening statements toward fellow BLM employees and that many
were scared of Madrid and what he might do.
A federal indictment is an accusation by
a grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless
proven guilty. If convicted, however, each of the two counts of making threats
against a federal employee carry a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in
federal prison and a $250,000 fine. The intimidating or interfering with a
federal employee count, upon conviction, carries a maximum statutory sentence
of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
The investigation is being conducted by
the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy L. Drake of the U.S. Attorney’s Office
in Amarillo is in charge of the prosecution.
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