A Silver City man has been charged with threatening a U.S. Forest Service officer after an alleged confrontation following a sentencing hearing in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on July 14.
According to court documents, Fred Andrew Berry, 55, appeared in federal court for a sentencing hearing related to prior violations on U.S. Forest Service land. After the hearing, a U.S. Forest Service officer approached Berry to issue two additional citations for maintaining a campfire during fire restrictions and failing to properly dispose of garbage.
Berry allegedly became confrontational after receiving the citations and threatened the officer. Court documents state that Berry leaned toward the officer and said, “just know that if I see you in the streets,” before pointing at the officer and saying, “you’re a dead terrorist bitch.” The officer observed Berry clenching his teeth and tensing his body, which caused concern about an imminent physical attack.
Witnesses to the incident included a Bureau of Land Management ranger and a courtroom security officer. The security officer later heard Berry respond, “I said what I said,” when asked whether his statement was intended as a threat.
Berry is charged with making threats to a federal law enforcement officer and will remain in custody pending trial. If convicted of these charges, he faces up to two years in prison. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement regarding these charges.
The case is being investigated by the Las Cruces Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office with assistance from the U.S. Forest Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Aguirre-Rivera is prosecuting this case. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation; all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.