ST. PAUL, MINN. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Minnesota), published as received.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man has been sentenced to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for making threats against Hennepin County employees and illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on June 24, 2021, the Hennepin County District Court issued an arrest warrant for Peter Robert Berry, 60, after he failed to appear in court for a hearing. Berry called an employee of Hennepin County Community Corrections to ask questions about his court appearance. During the call Berry became angry and began yelling and threatened to “shoot up the place.” That same day, Berry left a voice message for a Hennepin County Probation Officer in which Berry demanded a call back before he starts “killing everybody.” On June 25, 2021, Berry called a Hennepin County Service Center employee who informed him of the active warrant for his arrest due to his failure to appear in court. Upon learning about the warrant, Berry stated that he was going to “come down and kill everybody, all the judges, clerks, and deputies.” On June 29, 2021, Berry left a voice message for a Hennepin County Public Defender in which Berry expressed his dissatisfaction with the representation he received in his criminal case and threatened that people were going to die and stated that he knew where the public defender lived.

According to court documents, on July 10, 2020, and on April 7, 2021, Berry unlawfully possessed three firearms, including a Beretta .25 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a Smith and Wesson 9 mm pistol, and a Diamondback DB15 rifle. Because Berry has prior felony convictions in Hennepin, Dakota, and Ramsey Counties, he is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition at any time.

Berry was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud. On June 22, 2022, Berry pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm as a felon and one count of interstate transmission of a threat.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Allison K. Ethen prosecuted the case.