Woman who Tampered with a Witness Involved in a Federal Trial Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison

A woman who tampered with a witness involved in a federal trial was sentenced September 25, 2023, to 30 months in federal prison.

Jenise Colvin, age 38, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a May 5, 2023 guilty plea to conspiracy to tamper with a witness and tampering with a witness.         

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that Colvin and her co-defendant, Michael Lynn Ashford, spoke about their plan to contact the witness who had called 911 after a firearm was pointed at the witness while at a gas station in Dubuque.  Colvin then called the witness.  When Colvin spoke to the witness, she told the witness that they knew personal information about the witness, including name and address.  In imposing its sentence, the district court expressed that witness tampering goes to the core of the justice system.

Colvin was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams.  Colvin was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Colvin is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

Co-defendant Michael Lynn Ashford has not yet been sentenced.  He faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for each count of witness tampering.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin, and it was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Dubuque Police Department.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 22-CR- 1037-02.

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