Murrieta children threatened in 'manifesto' by man claiming to be sex offender

6-11-2010 California:

Police were posted outside a Murrieta elementary school and nearby streets Thursday after numerous residents were mailed anonymous, ranting eight-page letters that included death threats against their children.

The letters, which began arriving Wednesday and apparently also were sent to registered sex offenders, urge sex offenders to terrorize Murrieta's Hillsboro Circle neighborhood and Tovashal Elementary School, and suggest specific ways to murder local children.

The letter writer claims to be a registered sex offender disgruntled over the profusion of laws restricting the lives of "ex-sex offenders" and the "harassment" they receive. He writes that he is targeting Hillsboro Circle and the school a couple of blocks away because a group of residents launched a strident effort earlier this year to run a registered sex offender out of the neighborhood.

Murrieta police Lt. Dennis Vrooman referred to the letter as a "terrorist manifesto."

"We're taking this very seriously based upon the specifics in the letter," Vrooman said.

A copy of the letter was provided to The Press-Enterprise by one of the neighbors who received it.

"They seem to think that antagonizing us to the breaking point is somehow making children safer," the letter states. "It's time we show them they're not safer ... we should kill as many children as we can. You don't need a gun either. Just walk up to a group of small children on their way to or from school and stab as many as you can."

It also suggests planting razor blades in sandboxes, firebombing residents' homes and other violent acts.

In addition to the neighborhood residents, the writer claims to have sent the letter to all of the registered sex offenders in the Murrieta area and some others. And he lists what he claims are the home addresses and other personal details about the radio talk show personalities John Kobylt and Kenneth Chiampou, of KFI's "The John and Ken Show," who frequently use their program as a platform to rail against sex offenders.

A message left with the radio station Thursday was not returned.

After a registered sex offender moved into a home on Hillsboro Circle earlier this year, some neighbors staged angry protests in the street and posted signs with the sex offender's name and photograph. They also raised their concerns at a City Council meeting and called the Police Department. Robert Bean, a protest organizer specifically named in the anonymous letter, went on "The John and Ken Show" to talk about the effort.

Bean did not return a phone message Thursday.

Vrooman said that extra officers will be deployed at the school today -- the last day of the school year -- and in the coming days on Hillsboro Circle.

Police also have enlisted the help of regional and federal law enforcement agencies to assist with the investigation.

Officers went door to door Thursday afternoon on Hillsboro Circle -- a quiet cul-de-sac with about 30 newer tract homes -- collecting the letters from residents and confiscating them as evidence in individual brown paper bags. The letters arrived in white legal-sized envelopes and were written, single-spaced, on white computer paper.

Children rode bicycles and skateboards in the street while parents gathered in their driveways talking about the unfolding investigation.

Brian Brase, the 29-year-old registered sex offender whose presence touched off the protests, moved out of the neighborhood weeks ago.

Brase declined to comment for this story. But Roger Wallace, a friend and the owner of the home where Brase had been staying, said he now lives in San Bernardino County.

Brase left not because of the protests but to be closer to his new job as a chef, Wallace said.

Wallace said Brase, too, received a copy of the letter and was very upset by it.

"This guy is a psycho," Wallace said of the letter writer. "I hope they catch the guy, because this guy is trying to incite terrorism in the neighborhood."

Some parents who live on the cul-de-sac said they disapproved of the protests outside Brase's home. Now, they said, they are beside themselves with worry over their children's safety and angry at the neighbors who spoke out against the sex offender.

Retrieving a small package from her mailbox Thursday, Christine Morphew scrutinized the address before cautiously lifting the lid.

"This is how paranoid I am," she said with a nervous laugh. "It's just dog shampoo!"

"This has just been a nightmare," said Starla Church, another parent.

Church said she was so embarrassed by the mob mentality of some of her neighbors that she apologized to Brase in person.

"He was doing his own thing. He wasn't bothering anybody," Church said.

Church said her 10-year-old son couldn't sleep after they received the letter Wednesday, and Thursday he was afraid to go to school.

"It's a good neighborhood. I loved it when I moved in," Church said. "Now we don't know when we'll breathe easy again." ..Source.. Sarah Burge