Holyoke resident Carlos Maldonado, 30, admitted in federal court yesterday to threatening to murder a federal law enforcement officer — a chilling act of retaliation caught on record and now drawing a hard line from the justice system.
Maldonado pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Boston to a single count of threatening to kill a federal agent in connection with the officer’s official duties. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for June 19, 2019, leaving Maldonado to face another potential decade behind bars on top of the time he’s already serving.
The charge stems from an incident that surfaced during Maldonado’s existing incarceration. He is currently serving a 42-month federal sentence — a 30-month term for a 2016 conviction on cocaine distribution, followed by a consecutive 12-month sentence for violating supervised release from a 2014 heroin distribution conviction.
Authorities say the threat was not idle. Federal prosecutors emphasized that threats against law enforcement — especially those tied to official duties — are treated with maximum severity. If sentenced on this count, Maldonado faces up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
The case was announced by United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Division. They made clear: targeting a federal agent is a direct assault on the justice system itself.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg A. Friedholm of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case. No plea deal details were disclosed, but the guilty plea signals a strategic move as Maldonado now awaits judgment for trying to intimidate the very system holding him accountable.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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