Prison Time for Manchester Man Who Threatened Fed Official

MANCHESTER, CT — A Manchester man has been giving a prison sentence of three-and-a-half years for threatening a federal official in a courtroom, a leading prosecutor said.

John H. Durham, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Peter Santos, 41, of Manchester, was sentenced on Monday 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 crime.

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 prison sentence, Santos began serving a three-year period of supervised release, which was transferred to the U.S. Probation Office in Connecticut, Durham said.

While on supervised release, Santos tested positive for controlled substances on multiple occasions, Durhan said.

On Aug. 31, 2016, Santos appeared before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven for a supervised release violation hearing. Durham said. Judge Arterton revoked Santos’ supervised release and imposed a penalty of six months in prison followed by two years 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,” according to a case report.

According to a case report,. the Probation Officer responded, “Excuse me?” and Santos then responded, “You heard me.”

After they left the courtroom, a Deputy U.S. marshal said to Santos, “That’s not smart,” according to a case report.

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,” according to a case report.

The investigation revealed that Santos made additional threats while he was incarcerated on the supervised release violation, Durham said.

Santos has been detained since his arrest on Jan. 30, 2017.

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