A Eugene man who threatened parishioners at St. Mary Catholic Church last year, has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. He was charged with obstructing the free exercise of religious beliefs and unlawful possession of ammunition.
After an angry outburst during a service last September, Benjamin Jaramillo Hernandez terrorized church members for the next 10 days.
He sprayed pepper spray on door knobs and through a mail box slot, he left threatening voicemails and later sent a letter with hollowed point bullets.
“He had a prior felony in the early 90's which meant that he was a previously convicted felon and it’s a violation of federal law for a felon to be in possession of ammunition." said Gavin Bruce He’s the Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon and was prosecutor for the case.
"We charged him by criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of ammunition then we fully investigated the hate crime aspect of this charge,“ said Bruce.
Bruce says Hernandez obstructed the free exercise of religious beliefs that can be seen through a drop in church attendance.
"For the past decade, church shootings and shootings at houses of worship such as Christchurch Mosque, Tree of Life Synagogue, Charleston Church, Sutherland Springs, and sadly many more, they’ve created a different environment for our houses of worship," Bruce said. Having a threat like this against St. Mary is going to change how they operate for quite some time, he said.
Hernandez must seek mental health in prison and will have 3 years of supervision after his release.