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Trayvon Martin: Brevard man arrested for threatening Sanford police chief, cops say
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel 6:51 p.m. CDT, March 23, 2012
A Melbourne Beach man upset by the Trayvon Martin shooting investigation was arrested Friday, accused of sending a profanity laced, threatening email to Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr.
Seminole County deputies began investigating Thursday, after 68-year-old John Carnduff Stewart sent an 8:23 a.m. email to Lee with the subject line "Coming after you," the Sheriff's Office said.
"You and your family deserve to be hunted down and shot like a dog, just like Trayvon Martin," deputies said Stewart wrote. He called the Sanford Police Department "bigoted" and "unprofessional."
"I have more weapons than your entire police department and I would love to use some of them to take you down," the email says. Stewart ended his message, deputies say, with his home address.
"I dare you to visit my home or send one of your officers and find out exactly how long you or other police officers would last," says the short email, which was released Friday afternoon.
Investigators took Stewart up on his dare Friday morning, searching his home and finding "additional threatening emails" on his computer. He confessed to sending Lee the email, deputies say.
"I know what this is about," Stewart told investigators, according to his arrest report. "I sent the emails, and I wanted to ******** them off."
Seminole County officials said Stewart "is known to authorities" for sending similar emails in the past. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail, and later was transferred to Seminole County.
He faces a charge of written threats to kill or do bodily injury, a second-degree felony.
Officials say Stewart was once investigated by Penn State University authorities for threats against Mike McQueary, a former assistant football coach and witness in the PSU sex abuse scandal.
The shooting of Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, has sparked a national controversy. Many have criticized the investigation of the case, and SPD's decision not to arrest shooter George Zimmerman.
Lee stepped down as Sanford Police Deparment chief temporarily on Thursday, pending the outcome of state and federal investigations of the Feb. 26 shooting death.
jeweiner@tribune.com or 407-420-5171
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Trayvon Martin: Brevard man arrested for threatening Sanford police chief, cops say
By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel 6:51 p.m. CDT, March 23, 2012
A Melbourne Beach man upset by the Trayvon Martin shooting investigation was arrested Friday, accused of sending a profanity laced, threatening email to Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee Jr.
Seminole County deputies began investigating Thursday, after 68-year-old John Carnduff Stewart sent an 8:23 a.m. email to Lee with the subject line "Coming after you," the Sheriff's Office said.
"You and your family deserve to be hunted down and shot like a dog, just like Trayvon Martin," deputies said Stewart wrote. He called the Sanford Police Department "bigoted" and "unprofessional."
"I have more weapons than your entire police department and I would love to use some of them to take you down," the email says. Stewart ended his message, deputies say, with his home address.
"I dare you to visit my home or send one of your officers and find out exactly how long you or other police officers would last," says the short email, which was released Friday afternoon.
Investigators took Stewart up on his dare Friday morning, searching his home and finding "additional threatening emails" on his computer. He confessed to sending Lee the email, deputies say.
"I know what this is about," Stewart told investigators, according to his arrest report. "I sent the emails, and I wanted to ******** them off."
Seminole County officials said Stewart "is known to authorities" for sending similar emails in the past. He was booked into the Brevard County Jail, and later was transferred to Seminole County.
He faces a charge of written threats to kill or do bodily injury, a second-degree felony.
Officials say Stewart was once investigated by Penn State University authorities for threats against Mike McQueary, a former assistant football coach and witness in the PSU sex abuse scandal.
The shooting of Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old, has sparked a national controversy. Many have criticized the investigation of the case, and SPD's decision not to arrest shooter George Zimmerman.
Lee stepped down as Sanford Police Deparment chief temporarily on Thursday, pending the outcome of state and federal investigations of the Feb. 26 shooting death.
jeweiner@tribune.com or 407-420-5171
textSize()
Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel
os-trayvon-martin-threat-arrest-chief-lee-20120323
TUGS.setInitCount('{"message":"No rating."}'); TUGS.tugsURL = "http://discussions.chicagotribune.com/"; TUGS.init_starRating();
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