Ohio man receives 30-year sentence for threatening Alachua County judge

Gavel and scales of justice with law books
Brian A Jackson/Shutterstock

An Ohio man who threatened an Alachua County judge and assaulted a federal employee was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on Dec. 3.

According to a Northern District of Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office press release sent Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor sentenced Wayne Andrew Miller, 41, of Lucasville, Ohio, to 30 years in federal prison after Miller pled guilty to threatening a judge and his family, assaulting a federal employee and possession of a weapon while in federal custody.

“We must protect our dedicated government employees, so that they may carry out their jobs without fear,” said Jason R. Coody, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida. “This sentence sends a strong message that we will take all measures to protect those who enforce the law is crucial to maintaining our democracy and keeping our communities safe.”

Become A Member

Mainstreet does not have a paywall, but pavement-pounding journalism is not free. Join your neighbors who make this vital work possible.

According to the release, Miller was serving a 20-year sentence in Ohio for kidnapping a female university student. That kidnapping happened nine days after Miller was released from state prison after he completed a 9-year sentence for rape and kidnapping. 

Wayne Andrew Miller
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Wayne Andrew Miller

Miller mailed a letter in November 2022 to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) where he threatened to kill a judge of the Eighth Judicial Circuit of Florida and to rape the judge’s wife and daughter. A federal grand jury indicted Miller for transmitting a threat in interstate commerce and using U.S. mail to transmit the threat.

“This investigation exemplifies the FBI’s commitment to protecting public servants and their families,” said Kristin Rehler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division, in the release. “Together, with our law enforcement partners, we remain dedicated to identifying, investigating, and holding accountable violent criminals who threaten the safety and security of others.”

Miller was taken into custody on Feb. 18, 2024, at the Federal Detention Center in Tallahassee to await court proceedings on the threat charges. A Bureau of Prisons (BOP) nurse was conducting a medical assessment of Miller when he stabbed her in the head above the eye with a plastic shank and intended to take her hostage.

A federal grand jury then returned another indictment charging Miller with assaulting a federal employee with intent to cause bodily harm and possessing an object intended to be used as a weapon in the Federal Detention Center.

The case was investigated by the ACSO and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew J. Grogan prosecuted the case.

The case was investigated by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Grogan prosecuted the case.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Wes Markham

If he wanted to be a Florida man that bad he could’ve just moved here.