SACRAMENTO, Calif. — U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez sentenced Scott Anthony Orton, 57, of Puyallup, Washington, to one year and one day in prison today for transmitting interstate threats, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in July 2015, Orton posted several threatening statements on a popular news website in which he expressed his intent to travel to Placerville, California to kill an officer of the Placerville-based company, Stem Express LLC. On July 16, 2015, among other threats, Orton wrote, “The management of StemExpress should be taken by force and killed in the streets today. Kill StemExpress employees. I'll pay you for it.” Orton also identified the target of his threats by name, and wrote “I’ll pay ten grand to whomever beats me to [the target].”
Acting U.S. Attorney Talbert stated: “Orton made explicit, public statements expressing his intent to kill the victim. His conduct caused the victim to fear for her life and the lives of her family members and colleagues. The sentence imposed by the court recognizes the seriousness of his offense and should act as a deterrent to similar conduct.”
“The FBI is committed to protecting the American people and thoroughly investigating threats of violence against them,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tom Osborne of the FBI Sacramento field office. “Orton’s threats posed a serious threat to public safety and could have inspired a violent attack at StemExpress. We encourage the public to take such threats seriously and report them to prevent violent attacks in their communities.”
This case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Brian A. Fogerty prosecuted the case.