Alabama Man Sentenced for Threatening to Kill Prosecutor, Family Members, Judge

An Alabama man who threatened to kill the Mobile County, Alabama district attorney, the district attorney’s family, and a judge, is sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay more than $26,000 in restitution. 

William Terry Holmes made the threats from prison, while incarcerated on unrelated state charges.

According to prosecutors, Holmes made the threats after a man he claimed to know–Marco Perez —was sentenced to death for the killing of Mobile police officer Sean Tudor. 

In a letter to the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office Holmes wrote that the DA, the judge, and the DA’s family would suffer “a very horrible and painful death” for the prosecution of Perez. In an interview, Holmes told investigators he had associates watching the targets, warning they had hours to live. 

Fortunately, security precautions had already been taken. 

“No one who serves the cause of justice, or the families of those who serve, should ever be threatened for doing their job,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson of the Middle District of Alabama. “Our system depends on the courage of prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement officers. Threats against them are attacks on the rule of law itself and cannot be tolerated. 

Holmes pleaded guilty to mailing a threatening communication. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Mobile Field Office investigated this case, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service (USMS) and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office.  

“The FBI is committed to ensuring those who serve justice can do so without fear and will hold offenders accountable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley.