Ohio man convicted of threatening New Mexico prosecutors

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — An Ohio man avoided jail time and was sentenced Wednesday to three years of probation for sending a threatening voicemail with racist overtones to a New Mexico prosecutor last year, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Donald Walter Fowler, 47, of Lido, Ohio, did not like the way authorities and Gerald Byers investigated a fatal shooting involving a Las Cruces police officer last October.

They said Fowler targeted Byers, who is black.

Fowler was accused of leaving an expletive-filled voicemail for Byers on Oct. 26, saying, “There should be a noose in your future.”

Authorities say the call was traced to Fowler.

He was arrested in November, charged the following month and reached a plea deal in June.

Fowler faced up to three years in prison upon his conviction on a felony charge of communicating interstate threats.

Jessica Martin, an attorney for Fowler, did not immediately return a call Wednesday seeking comment on the case.

Byers said Fowler’s threat disrupted police operations, required enhanced security measures at the district attorney’s office and necessitated additional security measures for his home and family.

The US is gripped by intense debates about justice, race and democracy. Black prosecutors have emerged as central figures advocating these issues, highlighting the achievements and limits of black collective efforts to reform the justice system.

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