Arizona man goes to prison for threatening Utah Mormons

September 18, 2017 Utah Channel 3

ST. GEORGE — A 72-year-old Arizona man has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison after a jury found him guilty of threatening members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps sentenced Richard Corrie Beals of Tucson to 13 months and one day in prison and fined $5,000.

Beals was convicted of two counts of transmitting a communication containing a threat to kidnap or injure, according to court documents.

The evidence presented at trial proved that Beals sent multiple threatening and harassing communications, over an extended length of time to various federal officials and private citizens in Salt Lake City, said prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Arizona, Tucson.

Further evidence also demonstrated that the threats were directed at members of the LDS church.

Beals will be on supervised probation for three years after he is released from prison. During that time, he is ordered to have no contact with the victims and to stay away from any LDS facilities, including churches and temples.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Salt Lake City Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

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