United States Attorney John C. Richter Western District of Oklahoma May 5, 2008 CONTACT: Bob Troester                 405/553-8999

LAWTON MAN SENTENCED TO SERVE 33 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR
THREATENING A FEDERAL SOCIAL SECURITY JUDGE

  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, announced that CHARLIE EUGENE TINSLEY, 39, of Lawton, Oklahoma, was sentenced today to serve 33 months in federal prison for threatening to assault a United States Social Security Administrative Law Judge.

“Threats against judges can never be tolerated,” said United States Attorney Richter. “A threat against the judiciary threatens not only the individual judge, but also our system of justice.”

Tinsley was indicted by a federal grand jury in November of 2007 for threatening a United States Social Security Administrative Law Judge during a phone call he made on October 30, 2007, to the Social Security office. On January 11, 2008, Tinsley pled guilty to threatening to assault the Judge with intent to retaliate against him on account of his official duties as a judge.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lee Borden and Arvo Q. Mikkanen.

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