In a bizarre twist straight out of a crime thriller, a Milwaukee man awaiting trial allegedly forged a letter threatening to assassinate Donald Trump, just to get a key witness against him deported.
Demetric D Scott , who’s locked up on armed robbery and battery charges, now faces new felonies for identity theft , witness intimidation , and bail jumping . Prosecutors say he tried to eliminate the star witness by impersonating him in a bogus threat to the US president.
Dishwasher turned 'assassin'? The real victim speaks no English
The forged letter, signed in the name of 54-year-old Ramo´n Morales Reyes , landed on the desks of state and federal officials in May. In it, someone claiming to be Reyes vowed to kill Trump and “self-deport” to Mexico. The return address matched his Milwaukee home.
Federal agents swooped in. Reyes, who works as a dishwasher and is the father of three U.S. citizen children, was arrested after dropping his kid off at school. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem herself announced the arrest, and the White House plastered his name and face across social media.
There was just one problem: Reyes didn’t write the letter. In fact, he barely speaks English.
Jailhouse calls reveal plot
Investigators quickly grew suspicious. Reyes’ handwriting didn’t match the letter, and during jailhouse phone calls, Scott was heard discussing how to get “someone picked up by ICE” so his trial could be dismissed. He even admitted to writing the letter, according to the complaint.
Falsely accused man fights to stay with family
Reyes, listed as the victim in the case, had already applied for a U visa, a form of protection for undocumented immigrants who are crime victims. But those visas are backlogged for years.
His lawyer Cain Oulahan says the immediate goal is to get Reyes released and explore all options to keep him in the country. “He has a U visa pending, but that process is slow. We’re exploring every way to keep him with his family,” Oulahan said.
As for Scott, he’ll stand trial in July, facing even more serious charges than before.
Demetric D Scott , who’s locked up on armed robbery and battery charges, now faces new felonies for identity theft , witness intimidation , and bail jumping . Prosecutors say he tried to eliminate the star witness by impersonating him in a bogus threat to the US president.
Dishwasher turned 'assassin'? The real victim speaks no English
The forged letter, signed in the name of 54-year-old Ramo´n Morales Reyes , landed on the desks of state and federal officials in May. In it, someone claiming to be Reyes vowed to kill Trump and “self-deport” to Mexico. The return address matched his Milwaukee home.
Federal agents swooped in. Reyes, who works as a dishwasher and is the father of three U.S. citizen children, was arrested after dropping his kid off at school. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem herself announced the arrest, and the White House plastered his name and face across social media.
There was just one problem: Reyes didn’t write the letter. In fact, he barely speaks English.
Jailhouse calls reveal plot
Investigators quickly grew suspicious. Reyes’ handwriting didn’t match the letter, and during jailhouse phone calls, Scott was heard discussing how to get “someone picked up by ICE” so his trial could be dismissed. He even admitted to writing the letter, according to the complaint.
Falsely accused man fights to stay with family
Reyes, listed as the victim in the case, had already applied for a U visa, a form of protection for undocumented immigrants who are crime victims. But those visas are backlogged for years.
His lawyer Cain Oulahan says the immediate goal is to get Reyes released and explore all options to keep him in the country. “He has a U visa pending, but that process is slow. We’re exploring every way to keep him with his family,” Oulahan said.
As for Scott, he’ll stand trial in July, facing even more serious charges than before.
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