Home/Local/Lamar County man with long history of death threats sentenced to prison | News

Lamar County man with long history of death threats sentenced to prison | News

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

2 2 minutes read

A Lamar County man with a criminal history of arson and sending death threats was sentenced to the statutory maximum sentence of 60 months in federal prison for sending threatening communications.

Travis Leroy Ball, 56, of Barnesville, was sentenced to 60 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Ball previously pleaded guilty in January to one count of sending threatening communications.

He is not eligible for parole.

“We will not tolerate threats of violence against public officials and similar criminal intimidation that disrupt the peace and order,” said U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary. “Travis Ball has threatened public officials at all levels and even their families. Keeping people safe is the top priority of our office and our law enforcement partners.

According to documents and statements filed in court, the FBI obtained a letter in March 2023 addressed to U.S. District Court Judge Marc T. Treadwell. The writer claimed to be a U.S. Secret Service agent who had investigated one of Ball's earlier cases.

In the letter, which was later determined to have been written by Ball, the author demanded that the charge in Ball's most recent federal case be dismissed and that he be released from federal custody, Leary said.

Using the name of a former cellmate, Leary said Ball also wrote letters to the U.S. District Court in Valdosta, Ga., and to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., in March and May 2023 respectively, threatening to kill employees and their families, as well as burning property.

Ball wrote a letter to the Upson County Sheriff's Office in July 2023, claiming to be an FBI agent working on a top secret case and demanding that Ball's photos and personal information be removed and deleted from jail records , according to court documents.

“The FBI compared the letters, handwriting, letterhead, postage stamps, verbiage and the “INMATE MAIL” stamp on each letter and determined that Ball wrote the letters while in custody. The defendant's DNA was matched to letters sent to the U.S. Courthouse in Valdosta and to the letter posing as a U.S. Secret Service agent sent to Chief U.S. District Judge Treadwell. The results confirmed Ball's DNA on both letters. Officers found the writing materials and pads in Ball’s cell,” Leary said.

“Threats against public officials are not only illegal, but also pose a threat to our democratic process,” said Robert Gibbs, senior resident agent in charge of the FBI's Macon office in Atlanta. “While Mr. Ball's continued criminal conduct clearly illustrates his lack of concern and compassion for others, it also illustrates his refusal to be rehabilitated. Hopefully this additional sentence will finally send the message that the FBI will not tolerate his hate-fueled hoaxes and will continue to hold him accountable.