An inmate already behind bars has received a heavy addition to his current stint in prison for issuing a threat to a U.S. Probation officer in Chicago. GLENN BOWDEN, a 64-year-old from Riverdale, Ill., was sentenced to an extra seven years and three months, the U.S. Department of Justice reported. This new punishment is set to start after he finishes serving time for a prior federal robbery conviction.
Bowden's current nine-year sentence for robbery was already a significant hurdle, but in 2023, he made matters worse by mailing a threatening letter to the Probation officer who had worked on his presentence investigation. He also tried to game the system by submitting a fake letter, appearing to be written by his prison chaplain, to back a motion for compassionate release, as stated in a U.S. Department of Justice announcement. The chaplain, however, had no knowledge of the letter's existence.
When the FBI got to interview Bowden, he denied any involvement with the threatening communication or the counterfeit chaplain’s letter. His lies caught up with him, and Bowden eventually pleaded guilty to mailing a threatening communication, obstructing an official proceeding, and willfully making false statements to the FBI.
These kinds of threats undermine the justice system and those who work within it. “Threats against Court personnel and other federal staff have no place in our system of justice,” U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros said. This stance was underscored by Douglas S. DePodesta, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, who emphasized the seriousness of threatening federal personnel and the commitment to respond to such acts with "swift and full action."
Federal District Judge Martha M. Pacold handed down the sentence on a Tuesday, adding over seven years to Bowden's current sentence as a clear sign that the justice system won't tolerate threats to its officers or attempts to obstruct its processes. The case, which saw assistance from both the Federal Bureau of Prisons and US Marshals, was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maureen Merin and Kirsten Moran.
