A Grand Rapids man was sentenced to probation Monday after admitting to threatening a witness connected to an Itasca County beheading case.
Joeseph Allen Greniger, 20, was sentenced to five years of supervised probation in lieu of a 28-month prison sentence.
Greniger pleaded guilty last month in State District Court in Grand Rapids to a felony charge of first-degree witness tampering.
Greniger is the brother of Kayleene Danielle Greniger, 22, one of two suspects charged with premeditated first-degree murder in the June killing of 20-year-old David Haiman of Hibbing.
Authorities said Joeseph Greniger made multiple attempts to threaten a key witness in the case, alleging that the man "snitched" on his sister.
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In handing down the sentence, 9th Judicial District Judge Korey Wahwassuck accepted the terms of a plea agreement reached Nov. 7 between Joeseph Greniger and the Itasca County Attorney's Office.
Kayleene Greniger and her boyfriend, 35-year-old Joseph Christen Thoresen, are accused of killing Haiman in retaliation for the Hibbing man's alleged sexual assault of Kayleene Greniger.
They allegedly assaulted Haiman in their Grand Rapids apartment before taking him to the rural Ball Club area, where Kayleene Greniger told investigators that Thoresen stabbed and beheaded him, according to court documents.
Joeseph Greniger was arrested in July after allegedly threatening a witness who provided information about the case to police. A criminal complaint states that he called and sent Facebook messages to the witness, stating that he was "angry" and telling him, "You know what's coming."
When confronted by investigators, Joeseph Greniger admitted to messaging and calling the witness. He said he told the witness, "You snitched out my sister, and I am going to get you." He told a deputy that he knew what he said was a threat and wrong.
The witness tampering charge carried a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Cases remain open against both Thoresen and Kayleene Greniger.
Thoresen last week requested a contested hearing, which is scheduled for Feb. 23. Kayleene Greniger recently was granted a public defender after initially retaining an attorney. She's due back in court on Jan. 24.
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Both have remained in the Itasca County Jail since their arrests and were indicted by a grand jury on premeditated first-degree murder charges in October. If convicted, they face mandatory life sentences without parole.
