A person convicted of sending an emailed menace to commit a mass taking pictures at Shoal Creek Elementary School in Carmel Mountain Ranch was sentenced Wednesday to 2 years in state jail, although he has already served sufficient time in custody to be paroled.
Lee Lor, 40, was discovered responsible by a jury of a single felony depend of constructing legal threats for an e mail he despatched in December 2023 that prompted a police response on the campus and Lor’s arrest later that day.
Prosecutors say the e-mail was one among more than 400 he despatched over the course of a number of months stating he would commit a taking pictures on the college, which is positioned lower than a mile from the place Lor was residing on the time.
The December 2023 e mail said he was going “to commit mass shootings” on the college and listed the varsity’s deal with.
One other e mail he despatched said, “I’m going to homicide a bunch of youngsters,” whereas one other learn, “Kids are going to die and fogeys can’t do nothing about it. This may put a smile on my face.”
Not one of the emails Lor wrote had been despatched on to the varsity. As a substitute, Lor replied to random spam emails in his inbox with almost equivalent threats to shoot up Shoal Creek. One of many emails he replied to on Dec. 1 landed within the spam folder of a lady in Beverly Hills, who alerted police.
The 2-year sentence was the utmost time period that could possibly be imposed.
Superior Courtroom Choose Theodore Weathers’ sentence additionally included an order that state parole officers present psychological well being and substance abuse therapy for Lor, which he stated had been “an necessary element of Mr. Lor’s supervision and potential rehabilitation.”
Weathers denied requests from Lor’s protection lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Lucas Hirsty, to cut back the conviction to a misdemeanor, permit Lor to take part in psychological well being or army diversion applications, or dismiss the conviction solely.
Hirsty argued that since Lor wouldn’t face any extra custodial time, a felony conviction wouldn’t accomplish something additional.
The lawyer argued at trial that there was no critical intent behind the threats, which he stated had been triggered partially by trauma sustained throughout Lor’s army service and the current demise of his father.
Lor didn’t make a press release through the sentencing listening to, however Hirsty stated his shopper “needed to specific his condolences to Ms. Omoto and the varsity. He isn’t oblivious to the impression that receiving the communication may have or did have on the varsity.”
Weathers stated the felony conviction ought to stand because of the seriousness of Lor’s actions.
“The defendant focused one of the vital weak areas, the place probably the most harmless of victims are attending college. In a spot the place youngsters ought to really feel secure, the defendant instilled an enduring concern within the principal, workers, college students, dad and mom, and the group by his threats,” the decide stated.
Shoal Creek’s principal, Harmeena Omoto, testified through the trial that the threats prompted campus officers to boost the fences surrounding its playground areas. She additionally stated she now stands on the college’s entrance gates throughout on-campus occasions which can be open to the general public and personally checks every individual attending the occasions to see if they’ve any reference to the varsity.
On Wednesday, she stated she nonetheless doesn’t really feel secure on campus and stays on guard for “each surprising noise, each automotive that slows down close to the varsity, each stranger that approaches our workplace.”
Omoto stated, “The fixed state of hypervigilance has changed my peace of thoughts.”
Throughout the trial, Lor’s lawyer argued his shopper shouldn’t be discovered responsible as a result of the e-mail was not despatched on to the varsity and didn’t particularly threaten Omoto, who’s listed in a legal criticism because the sufferer in Lor’s case. Comparable arguments led a decide to dismiss the legal case in opposition to Lor final yr, however prosecutors later refiled the legal threats depend.
The case was one among a number of cited by native lawmakers who authored Senate Bill 19, also referred to as The Protected Colleges and Locations of Worship Act, which was signed into legislation final month.
The brand new legislation, which officers stated closes a loophole that prevented prosecution in opposition to some individuals who threatened mass violence, criminalizes threats made in opposition to establishments similar to colleges, workplaces, medical services or homes of worship, even when the menace doesn’t particularly goal an individual.
