A Milwaukee man who slashed a bicyclist with a box cutter and then tried to frame his own victim with fake death threats against President Trump - hoping immigration authorities would deport him before trial - was sentenced Friday to 16½ years in prison.
Demetric DeShawn Scott, 52, was convicted in January of felony identity theft, witness intimidation, reckless endangerment and bail jumping after a Milwaukee County jury concluded he impersonated the man he attacked and sent threatening letters to state and federal officials.
On Friday, Judge Kristy Yang stacked the penalties: 18 months for identity theft, five years for intimidating a witness and 10 years for reckless endangerment. He received credit for 882 days already served on the bail-jumping charge.
The attack
The case began in September 2023, when Ramón Morales Reyes was riding his bike in Milwaukee.
Scott approached him, kicked him off the bicycle, cut him with a box cutter and rode away on the stolen bike, according to court records. Police arrested Scott within hours. He was out on bail in a separate burglary case at the time. That burglary case was dismissed Friday.
The deportation ploy
While jailed, Scott carried out a scheme prosecutors described as calculated and cynical.
He wrote multiple letters posing as Morales Reyes and sent them to state and federal officials threatening to kill Trump at a rally. The goal: trigger federal immigration enforcement and remove Morales Reyes from the country before he could testify.
We are tired of this president messing with us mexicans - we have done more for this country than you white people - you have been deporting my family and I think it is time Donald J. Trump get what he has coming to him. I will self deport myself back to mexico but Not before I use my 30 yard 6 to shoot your precious president
The plan briefly succeeded in dragging the victim into federal custody.
In May, immigration authorities detained Morales Reyes after he dropped his daughter off at school. Investigators later determined the threat letters were forged and tied them to Scott. The letters did not match Morales Reyes’ writing or language ability, and evidence presented at trial linked them to Scott.
A high-stakes backfire
What started as a street robbery escalated into a national story — blending a violent assault, threats against a former president and the machinery of federal immigration enforcement.
Morales Reyes has since sought a U visa, available to certain crime victims who assist law enforcement. His immigration case remains pending.
Scott, meanwhile, will spend more than a decade in state prison — his attempt to silence a witness by weaponizing the federal government ultimately sealing his own fate.
