Text threat case
A Longview man who pleaded guilty in 2008 to sending threatening text messages to an Odessa teen was sentenced Wednesday to nine months in federal prison after a judge found he violated the terms of his probation for the second time.
John Wesley Southern, 37, was given credit for nearly six months he served in federal custody awaiting Wednesday’s revocation hearing in U.S. District Court in Midland. In addition to levying the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Rob Junell ordered Southern return to Longview to live upon his release, where he will be monitored electronically and forbidden from using the Internet for nearly two years while on probation.
The case began more than three years ago after Rep. Tryon D. Lewis, R-Odessa, alerted the FBI that Southern had “sexually solicited” a teen family member while visiting Odessa in April 2007, according to court documents and a criminal complaint filed by FBI special agent Dina E. Morales. In September 2007, the complaint states, the teen girl stopped having contact with Southern after he left a threatening voicemail on her cell phone.
The FBI complaint states that Southern is Lewis’ nephew. Lewis, contacted by phone Wednesday, declined to comment on Southern’s court proceedings, saying he had no involvement in the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Klassen, who prosecuted the case, also declined to comment on Wednesday’s outcome.
Southern’s defense attorney, Raymond K. Fivecoat of Midland, said in an e-mail message that the ruling Wednesday “reflects Judge Junell’s desire to help all of the individuals on his supervised release caseload become successful citizens who are struggling to reintegrate into society after their period of incarceration.”
According to the complaint, Southern sent the girl more than 90 text messages, many of which “described Southern’s intention to injure and kill the minor child and other people.”
“What can I do right now?” Southern said in one series of threatening text messages. “Well I could easily kill anyone with chemicals. It would just be ruled a natural death. Unexpected blood clot causing a stroke. Liver failure is an easy one.”
According to the complaint, another message read: “I’m not trying to scare you but there is no one who can save or hide you from me. There is no enforcement that can stop insanity from lost hopes and dreams caused by a one time great friend who betrayed.”
Southern was indicted in February 2008 on 12 counts of sending threatening voice, text and MySpace messages through interstate commerce. Some of the messages were sent to another Odessa teen Southern claimed was dating the female victim.
After a psychiatric evaluation determined he was competent to stand trial, Southern pleaded guilty to one count of the indictment and was sentenced to time served and three years of probation. He was released from prison July 1, 2008, after spending about eight-and-a-half months behind bars, court documents show.
In April 2009, Southern’s probation officers determined he had violated the terms of his supervised release on multiple occasions by sending e-mail messages and making online journal postings. He also contacted the victim’s family by phone, another violation, court documents show.
In June 2009, Junell sentenced Southern to an additional six months in prison to be followed by more than two years of supervised release. Court documents show Junell released Southern from custody early, sentencing him to time served in October 2009.
Wednesday’s ruling was Southern’s second probation revocation in the case.
“I absolutely do not believe that Mr. Southern received any type of special treatment, nor do I think that he received a sentence different than any other supervised releasee who might be similarly situated, facing similar violations, with a similar history of mental illness,” Fivecoat wrote in his e-mail. “While it makes good fodder for speculation and conspiracy theorists, I can assure you that Mr. Southern did not receive any preferential treatment from the Court or the U.S. Attorney’s office, and I truly believe that the outcome would have been the same, regardless of any type of relationship that Mr. Southern might have with any elected official.”
