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LAS VEGAS – A federal jury in Las Vegas has convicted Latonia Dyshawna Smith, 31, of three counts of cyberstalking for making violent threats against two federal judges and a probation officer involved in her earlier criminal case. The trial was prosecuted by a team from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California after the District of Nevada was recused.
The jury returned the guilty verdict after a six-day trial and less than a day of deliberation. Smith was found to have threatened U.S. District Judge Richard F. Boulware, who presided over her 2021 trial for prior death threats, U.S. District Judge Jennifer A. Dorsey, who oversaw her supervised release, and Probation Officer Shawn Mummey.
Background
In 2021, Smith was convicted and sentenced to 36 months in federal prison for threatening corporate lawyers tied to the 2017 dismissal of her mother from Planet Hollywood Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Following her release from prison, Smith began serving a term of supervised release. During this period, she began targeting officials involved in her prior case.
Prosecutors presented evidence that beginning in June 2022, Smith engaged in a disturbing pattern of behavior that included:
- Email threats referencing mass casualty events.
- Statements indicating deep surveillance of her victims, including family members and personal residences.
- Repeated searches for violent and extremist content, including how to make bombs and how to become a mass shooter.
In one message to her probation officer, Smith wrote: “Life is short, society should be careful who they piss off,” accompanied by a video of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting. Other emails included threats like “LET THE SHOW BEGIN. NEVADA IS GOING TO LOVE THIS!!!!” and direct references to victims’ families and homes.
Victim testimony during the trial emphasized the real fear caused by Smith’s threats. Judge Dorsey moved from her home after receiving one of Smith’s emails describing the area in which she lived. Judge Gloria Navarro testified that she reported Smith’s conduct to the U.S. Marshals and feared for her life and the safety of her colleagues and family.
The investigation, led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, revealed that Smith had researched her victims extensively, watching videos of the Mandalay Bay shooting multiple times and conducting online searches for weapons, explosives, and her victims’ locations.
Smith was arrested on June 27, 2022, following an FBI interview where she acknowledged relating to mass shooters, stating, “I think what they were thinking.”
Prosecution and Sentencing
The case was originally initiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada. In March 2024, the Department of Justice reassigned the prosecution after recusing the entire Nevada office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Haden and Francisco Nagel of the Southern District of California were designated as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys to try the case in Nevada.
Presiding over the trial was Senior U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman of the District of Oregon, specially appointed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Smith was acquitted on two additional cyberstalking counts but remains in custody pending sentencing. Each count of cyberstalking carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Case Information
- Defendant: Latonia Dyshawna Smith
- Age: 31
- Residence: Las Vegas, NV
- Case Number: 22CR051-MWM
- Charges: 3 Counts of Cyberstalking (18 U.S.C. § 2261A)
- Investigating Agency: Federal Bureau of Investigation
For further information, contact:
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California
Kelly Thornton | [email protected]
