Prison Inmate Pleads Guilty to Retaliatory Threats Against a Federal Officer

RALEIGH—United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court yesterday James Paul Lunkinoff, 58, pled guilty before United States Magistrate Judge James E. Gates to retaliating against a federal official by threat, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 115(a)(1)(B).

According to the November 16, 2011 indictment, Lunkinoff devised a scheme and plan to assault and kill a federal law enforcement officer. From October 2007 to November 2011, Lunkinoff was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution in Butner, North Carolina, to serve a prison term for a prior offense. From February 2009 to April 2011, Lunkinoff threatened to assault and kill the Federal Bureau of Investigation agent that had been assigned to investigate the prior offense.

The indictment alleges that Lunkinoff developed and pursued a plan to purchase a firearm silencer for his .30 caliber Ruger Black Hawk Revolver and have a friend or family member store the silencer until his release from prison. Once released, Lunkinoff planned to retrieve the silencer and his firearm and then track and kill the agent in retaliation for what Lunkinoff claimed were lies told by the agent in relation to the prior case.

The maximum penalties include up to 10 years’ imprisonment followed by up to three years’ supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Murphy is prosecuting the case.