John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that PETER J. SANTOS, 41, of Manchester, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 41 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for threatening a federal official. On June 2, 2017, a jury found SANTOS guilty of the offense.
According to the evidence presented during the trial, in January 2014, SANTOS was sentenced in the Southern District of New York to 25 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to transport stolen goods, conspiring to receive stolen goods and conspiring to commit wire fraud. On Dec. 31, 2015, after completing his period of incarceration, he began serving his three-year period of supervised release, which was transferred to the U.S. Probation Office in the District the Connecticut.
While on supervised release, SANTOS tested positive for controlled substances on multiple occasions. On Aug. 31, 2016, SANTOS appeared before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven for a supervised release violation hearing. Judge Arterton revoked SANTOS’ supervised release and imposed a penalty of six months of imprisonment to be followed by 24 months of additional supervised release. As the U.S. Marshals were walking SANTOS out of the courtroom, SANTOS looked at his supervising U.S. Probation Officer and stated “When I get out, I’m coming for you." The Probation Officer responded, “Excuse me?" SANTOS responded, “You heard me."
After they left the courtroom, a Deputy U.S. Marshal said to SANTOS, “That’s not smart." SANTOS responded by stating that he did not care and he was tired of it, adding that, “Everyone has to meet their maker whether it is by me or some other way."
The investigation revealed that SANTOS made additional threats while he was incarcerated on the supervised release violation.
SANTOS has been detained since his arrest on Jan. 30, 2017.
This matter was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney John H. Durham.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
