SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – David Backus, age 40, of North Syracuse, New York, pled guilty today to six counts of mailing threatening communications. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Backus admitted that between November 2021, and September 2022, he mailed 18 threatening letters to 6 victims using the U.S. Postal Service. In each of those letters, Backus threatened, among other things, “I’m going to kill you dead!!!” Backus admitted that he intended for each of these mailings to be a threat, and he knew that they would be viewed as a threat.
At sentencing, scheduled for June 28, 2023, Backus faces up to 5 years in prison on each count, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) investigated the case, with the assistance of the New York State Police, the Town of Kirkland Police Department, the Town of New Hartford Police Department, the Village of North Syracuse Police Department, and the City of Oswego Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie is prosecuting the case.
