A Denver man has been handed a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to threatening the lives of an Arkansas judge and a probation officer. 29-year-old Theodore Howell admitted to the charges of threatening a judicial officer/juror and terroristic threatening in a Benton County court on Monday.
Court documents reveal that Howell used the Benton County Sheriff’s Office website to send the threats in March. The targets of his threats were identified as Circuit Judge Brad Karren and probation officer Nathan Jeffrey. According to an affidavit, Howell used a phone he had previously used to communicate with Jeffrey to deliver the threats. The affidavit details the content of the threats, with Howell stating his intent to kill Judge Karren while the judge was walking to court, emphasizing the unexpected nature of the attack. He also threatened to kill Jeffrey at the probation office.
During an interview with a sheriff's detective, Howell initially claimed he had been hacked and that someone else was responsible for sending the threats. However, he later confessed to texting Jeffrey and making the threats against Karren. He claimed he never intended to carry out the threats and couldn't explain his motivations. Circuit Judge Robin Green accepted Howell’s plea and sentenced him to two decades in the Arkansas Department of Corrections. As part of his sentence, Howell is also required to complete an anger management program and is prohibited from having any contact with Karren or Jeffrey.
