Woonsocket man facing more prison time after threatening his probation officer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Woonsocket man convicted in September 2011 on drug trafficking and firearm charges admitted in U.S. District Court on Wednesday that, while serving a term of supervised release related to that conviction, he threatened a United States Probation Officer, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Following his conviction in 2011, Jason Collymore, 41, was sentenced to 144 months of incarceration to be followed by five years of federal supervised release. On Wednesday, Collymore pleaded guilty to information charging him with threatening of a federal officer with bodily harm with intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with the federal officer while engaged in the performance of his official duties.

According to charging documents, in June 2021, a U.S. Probation Officer twice contacted Collymore to discuss his failure to attend counselling sessions as required by the court. After the second call, Collymore made several vulgar-filled and combative telephone calls to the Probation Officer. Collymore continued failing to attend the court-ordered counselling sessions.

During a subsequent telephone conversation between Collymore and his Probation Officer, and witnessed and recorded by the Probation Officer’s supervisor, Collymore threatened to appear at the court in person with the “whole gang” and physically harm the Probation Officer.

Collymore is scheduled to be sentenced on June 22, 2022. Threatening of a federal officer with bodily harm with intent to impede, intimidate, or interfere with the federal officer while engaged in the performance of his official duties is punishable by statutory penalties of up to six years in federal prison to be followed by a term of supervised release of three years. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zechariah Chafee, Sandra R. Hebert, and Lauren S. Zurier.

The matter was investigated by the United States Marshals Service.