After refusing a plea offer that would have spared him a criminal record, a 44-year-old Parkville man was convicted yesterday of threatening to kill the governor and sentenced to two years of probation.
Walter C. Abbott Jr., a construction worker, was found guilty of threatening a public official at the end of a one-day jury trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court.
Although he expressed regret - both upon his arrest and just before being sentenced yesterday evening - for sending the threatening, profanity-laced e-mail to Gov. Martin O'Malley, Abbott remained defiant after the trial in his criticism of the governor.
Noting that he was convicted of making a single threat in his note to the governor, he said of O'Malley, "Every day that man's in office, he's a threat to ... the American people and their jobs. Maybe one day he'll grow up and be a man."
Upset with the governor's policies on illegal immigration, Abbott went to Annapolis in March to testify in favor of legislation that he believed would help keep him from losing construction work to people who enter the country illegally.
He had previously e-mailed his complaints to the governor and other public officials without receiving a response.
On March 18, he logged onto the governor's Web site, looking for his phone number, Abbott testified. But at 7:30 a.m., the office had not yet opened.
"I didn't have any work that day, and I was just sitting there" in front of the computer, he told jurors. Finding a comment page that invited Maryland residents and visitors alike to share their thoughts with the governor, he said, "I wrote down how I felt."
After expressing frustration that he was about to lose his wife, his second house and his third construction company "because of no good [expletive] government like you," Abbott wrote, "If I ever get close enough to yoy [sic], I will rap [sic] my hands around your throat and strangle the life from you. This will solve many problems for true AMERICAN'S. Maybe you can send your MEXICAN army after me, you no good AMERICAN SELL OUT [expletive]," according to a copy of the e-mail introduced as evidence at trial.
Abbott signed the letter with his full name, address and phone number. Within five hours, Sgt. Adam Stachurski of the Maryland State Police and two other troopers knocked on his front door.
"He was visibly shaken and said yes, he sent it out," the sergeant testified. "He said as soon as he hit the button, he knew he wanted to take it back."
