PIEDMONT — A 52-year-old man who allegedly emailed threats to Piedmont Chief of Police Jeremy Bowers and other members of the police department, including “I will show up with a machine gun and kill everyone of you,” has been arrested and charged with three misdemeanor criminal counts, according to authorities and court records.
The man, who in jail records lists his occupation as painter, has been charged with three counts of criminal threats which could result in death or great bodily injury.
The Oakland resident was arrested Aug. 9 at his home, has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held in lieu of $42,500 bail. No weapons were found at his home, police said.
Authorities said the man, who lives near the Piedmont border, has had several contacts with Piedmont police. Piedmont police arrested him Jan. 2 of this year in Piedmont on an Oakland police warrant that charged him with vandalism of more than $400 for allegedly cutting down a sign worth $3,500 at the Morcom Rose Garden. He was charged in that case.
According to court records, the man had previously been sending “random nonsense emails” to Piedmont officers over the past year.
But last week Bowers and two officers received emails beginning Aug. 8 that had “escalated into a threatening manner,” and the chief “believes the threats are credible,” the records say.
One email on Aug. 8 at 11:09 a.m. read, “I will show up with a machine gun and kill everyone of you. I don’t care. I have nothing to lose,” according to the records.
Another email on Aug. 9 at 1:53 p.m. read, “I am trying to find a submachine gun. I am going kill everyone in your department. There is no reason to live anymore,” the records say.
Piedmont Capt. Chris Monahan said it was known that the man was angry with the department, which may have escalated after he was arrested on the Oakland warrant, but that is still no excuse for the recent emails.
“They were threatening to the point we felt we had to take action,” he said.
At the time of his arrest last week, the man was wanted on a $2,500 bench warrant for failing to show up to a February court hearing for the Oakland vandalism case. He was representing himself in that case, had entered a not guilty plea Jan. 5 and had been released on his own recognizance, court records show.
