A former naval officer from New Hampshire, who is accused of making threatening phone calls to his ex-wife and sending malicious letters to her mother in Iowa, is expected to plead guilty to federal charges, officials say.

Luis De Leon, 30, of Middleton, Mass., is accused of making threatening communications across state lines, including calls to his ex-wife where he allegedly made several threatening statements, according to U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael Rollins.

“You’re gonna f****** pay! Do you understand!? There will be death! There will be war in the street! You wanna to go war!? I’ll take you to f****** war!” Leon reportedly said, according to charging documents. These calls were made around on or about April 30, 2022, according to prosecutors.

The calls were made by De Leon from a cell phone belonging to another person, investigators allege in court documents. De Leon reportedly made the call while in Methuen and his ex-wife was located in Iowa. Part of the call was filmed by a person sitting next to De Leon’s ex-wife.

During the call, De Leon also reportedly threatened to kill his ex-wife, with whom he has a daughter.

Then there were letters to his ex-wife’s mother while he was held in custody at a Middleton jail.

In May 2022, police arrested De Leon in Lawrence for unrelated reasons, and he was charged for carrying a hatchet knife, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, threatening to commit a crime and motor vehicle offenses, court documents state.

While incarcerated, De Leon sent two letters with threats to his ex-wife’s mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

He allegedly wrote, “I’ll be heading over there soon […] God help you and your dysfunctional family if you try and stop me.

“I won’t be alone either just so you know and that’s for your safety NOT MINE!!! […] If you don’t believe me just look where I’m sending this from. I don’t really have much else to lose, and do you know what men with nothing left to lose usually do?”

As part of the threats, De Leon quoted lyrics believed to be from a Metallica song called “Unforgiven” followed by more threats of violence, an investigator wrote in court documents.

In the threats, De Leon made numerous references to his daughter, and according to court documents, De Leon had been prohibited from making contact with his ex-wife and was precluded from visitation rights with his daughter.

Leon is a former naval police officer at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in New Hampshire and he was previously arrested and charged with a criminal complaint on Sept. 26, 2022, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. De Leon was employed by the naval shipyard from June 2021 until June 2022. He was placed on administrative leave in March 2022, and as part of his job, he had access to weapons, court documents state.

The charge of making threatening communications in interstate commerce can lead to up sentencing of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

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