Stanton Man Pleads Guilty to Threatening Judge

A 40-year-old Stanton man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he threatened an Orange County Superior Court judge after the jurist sentenced him to a jail term, authorities said.

Salvatorre Colodonato entered the guilty pleas after a Los Angeles County jury deadlocked 10-2 on the threat charges. Colodonato decided to plead guilty rather than face retrial, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ebrahim Baytieh said. The jury convicted Colodonato on drug and weapons charges.

Colodonato, who faced an eight-year prison term, was sentenced to two years, Baytieh said.

At a preliminary hearing last year on the drug and weapons charges, Colodonato lost his temper after Superior Court Judge Mary Erickson sentenced him to five months in jail for a parole violation. While being escorted to a holding cell, Colodonato told a deputy marshal that he was going to kill Erickson upon his release.

Erickson said she was so fearful of the threat that she considered taking handgun-training courses.

“We made clear that we don’t take threats lightly,” Baytieh said. “We believe that Mr. Colodonato’s conduct strikes at the core of the independence of the judiciary system.”

Colodonato’s attorney was unavailable for comment.