Wyoming man found guilty of threatening to assault officer while in Scotts Bluff County

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. -- A man from Wyoming was found guilty of threatening to kill an officer while in Scotts Bluff County.

Acting U.S. Attorney Susan Lehr said 54-year-old Anthony Unocic, of Wyoming, was found guilty on Thursday by a jury in federal court in Lincoln. Unocic was convicted of one count of threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer. His sentencing will be Jan. 4, 2024, at 9 a.m. and he faces up to six years in prison and up to three years on supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, a Wyoming ATF Agent investigated Unocic for possession of an unregistered silencer in 2021. A search warrant was used at Unocic’s Wyoming home and agents found the silencer, multiple firearms, ammunition and user amounts of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. In 2021 Unocic pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court, District of Wyoming, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.

Officials said Unocic was held in the Scotts Bluff County Jail in Nebraska while he was waiting for his sentencing. Unocic expressed anger about his conviction to fellow inmates and talked about killing the ATF agent that led the investigation. A video from inside the jail showed him acting out how he was going stab the ATF agent.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives