9 Guns Seized From California Man Charged With Cyberstalking

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Police seized an arsenal of weapons and ammunition from a Northern California man charged with cyberstalking his former co-workers after being fired from his job, it was introduced Tuesday.

Bryan Velasquez, 43, of Morgan Hill was charged final week with felony stalking and was launched on $50,000 bail. He may face additional prices involving unlawful weapons, authorities mentioned.

“There’s a person that has animosity, hatred, anger towards others and that was averted. A mass taking pictures, I consider, was averted,” Police Chief Anthony Mata mentioned.

It wasn’t instantly clear whether or not Velasquez had an legal professional who may communicate on his behalf. He declined to remark when contacted Tuesday by KNTV-TV.

Velasquez was fired from a building firm in January. In April, the corporate known as police to say that he had been “participating in stalking conduct,” a police assertion mentioned.

The conduct escalated, police mentioned, and included posting on-line images of himself pointing weapons and sending threatening, profanity-laced emails to his former supervisors and colleagues.

A few of the emails recommended he was watching the alleged victims and described particulars about their houses and relations.

One current e mail that was despatched out “had statements like, I do know the place you reside, I see you put in a pool, I do know what your spouse is driving,” Marisa McKeown, a supervising legal professional for the Crime Methods Unit of the Santa Clara County County district legal professional’s workplace, informed the Bay Space Information Group.

Police discovered that Velasquez owned a number of registered firearms and, working with the DA’s workplace, bought an arrest warrant on the felony cost and a gun-violence restraining order. That allowed authorities to grab his weapons pending a June 6 listening to to find out whether or not he’s match to own them. Each orders have been served at his house on Might 19, police mentioned.

Investigators seized not less than 5 rifles and 4 handguns, in response to police images. The weapons included two assault-style rifles, and a number of other of the weapons had unlawful modifications together with rear pistol grips and removable magazines, authorities mentioned.

Additionally seized have been “high-capacity magazines, tons of of rounds of ammunition, tactical physique armor and supplies to fabricate and assemble ghost weapons,” the police assertion mentioned.

The announcement got here solely days earlier than the primary anniversary of a taking pictures at a San Jose rail yard that killed 10 folks together with the gunman.

Sam Cassidy, 57, a disgruntled worker on the Valley Transportation Authority mild rail yard, killed co-workers after which himself within the Might 26 assault. It was the deadliest mass taking pictures in San Francisco Bay Space historical past.

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