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Prosecutors said 47-year-old Donald Walter Fowler, of Lido,
Ohio, didn’t like the way authorities and Gerald Byers were
handling the investigation of a fatal shooting involving a Las
Cruces police officer last October.
They said Fowler targeted Byers, who is Black.
Fowler was accused of leaving an expletive-filled voicemail on
Oct. 26 for Byers, which included “there should be a noose in
your future.”
Authorities said records traced the call to Fowler.
He was arrested in November, indicted the following month and
reached a plea agreement in June.
Fowler was facing up to three years in prison at his sentencing
for a felony charge of communicating interstate threats.
Jessica Martin, a lawyer for Fowler, didn’t immediately return a
call Wednesday seeking comment on the case.
Byers said Fowler’s threat disrupted police agency operations,
required enhanced security measures at the district attorney’s
office and necessitated additional security measures for his
home and family.
The U.S. is gripped by intense debates regarding justice, race
and democracy. Black prosecutors have emerged as central figures
litigating those issues, highlighting the achievements and
limits of Black communal efforts to reform the justice system.
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