A Nebraska truck driver was recently sentenced to 9 months in federal prison for threatening Department of Transportation workers.
According to the Journal-Star, Nebraska-native Ronald Mockelman called the local FMCSA office on January 10th, 2015, and left four threatening voice mails because he was unhappy about a $3,680 fine he received for not having a proper drug testing program in place for his one-man trucking company (he is the only employee/driver).
Mockelman reportedly told officials “Every last one of you is dead,” and also mentioned that he’s buying a gun because “it’s war [between them]”
In July, he pled guilty to threatening a federal official and apologized for his actions. His lawyer argued that he was just “venting” because he was upset about the ticket, and mentioned that he has since taken anger management classes, as well as issued a written apology.
At his hearing, U.S. Attorney Alan Everett told the court “It’s wrong and it’s illegal and inappropriate to take out your frustration against others. That’s what was done here.”
In October, Mockelman was sentenced to 9 months in federal prison, plus one year of supervised release. This is not the first time Mockelman will serve time for threatening a DOT worker, however. Back in 2011, he served 90 days for a similar offense.