Redwood Falls man sentenced for sending threatening Facebook messages

A Redwood Falls man, John Donald Stillson, age 27, was sentenced in Redwood County District Court for witness tampering after sending threatening Facebook messages.

According to court documents, on Jan. 7, at about 1 a.m., the Redwood Falls Police Department heard a report of harassing messages that had been sent earlier that evening by Stillson using Facebook messenger. The messages demanded the victim recant testimony she had made against against a third party accused of criminal sexual conduct.

The victim told police she felt threatened by Stillson’s messages, in part because she claimed the third party had told her he would set people against her.

On Aug. 22, John Donald Stillson was convicted of misdemeanor tampering with a witness in the third degree, coerce false information to police by intimidation. He was sentenced to local confinement for 47 days, and fees and fines of $285.