MILAN, Mich. (AP) — A man scheduled for release from a federal prison in Michigan could face additional time after authorities said he threatened to kill a prison guard and the guard’s family.
Prosecutors unsealed a new case Friday against Jemel Thompson, hours before he was to leave the prison in Milan, The Detroit News reported. Thompson, 32, was serving a 10-month sentence for violating supervised release conditions stemming from a conviction for gun and drug crimes, according to the newspaper.
He now faces six more years if convicted of threatening the guard. The Associated Press was unable to determine Friday if Thompson has an attorney.
Guards at the prison on Feb. 24 noticed graffiti in Thompson’s cell that threatened the guard, according to an affidavit by an FBI agent.
When confronted by guards, Thompson allegedly said, “When I get out on March 11, I am going to come up here with my Bloods and kill (the guard),” the affidavit read.
The guard suspected Thompson was upset because the guard had removed trash from his cell days earlier. Thompson had been transferred to a disciplinary unit after staff accused him of illegally possessing a cellphone in prison, the newspaper reported.
A member of the prison’s psychology staff evaluated Thompson last week and asked about the alleged threats. He replied, saying “if someone does something to you, you do something to them,” the FBI agent wrote in the affidavit.
Thompson pleaded guilty in 2015 to illegally possessing ammunition, lying to acquire a firearm and attempted heroin distribution and was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, The Detroit News reported.
He was freed in February 2020 but was soon back in prison after pleading guilty to violating supervised release and possessing drugs. A judge later sentenced him to 10 months in prison.
