Details on the On-Line terrorist threat suspect in Valencia
Eric Yee, a 21-year-old from Santa Clarita, was arrested in his Valencia home on September 17th after making criminal threats on an online blog. He has since been released on bond.
Earlier that day, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station received word from Bristol Connecticut Police that an unknown person posted on an ESPN blog (ESPN is based in Bristol) that they were watching kids and did not mind murdering them, comparing the potential massacre to the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado.
Yee's neighborhood (see arrow) overlooked two schools, which raised the level of concern over his threatening post
Authorities were able to link the anonymous poster to Yee, who resided on the 23000 block of Edenton Place, Valencia. Yee’s residence overlooked both Santa Clarita Elementary School and Arroyo Seco Junior High.
After locating Yee at his residence and arresting him without incident, Santa Clarita Valley Detectives served a search warrant at the scene and discovered several firearms. According to the Los Angeles County District Court, Yee is due in court on October 16th for possession of an illegal weapon.
Detectives also maintained contact with Bristol Police and police from Yale University, where Yee and previously gone to school, to ascertain whether there any other outstanding suspects, although there isn’t any current indication that other suspects are involved.
All classes and school schedules remained in session despite the threats as the Sheriffs increased the number of deputies on patrol around local campuses. Sgt. Darren Harris of the Los Angeles Sheriff Department said that police are still looking for a motive. “Investigation is ongoing as to why he allegedly did what he did,” said Sgt. Harris.
According to the Yale Daily News, University spokesman Tom Conroy said Tuesday night that Yee is not currently enrolled at Yale. The Associated Press further reports that Yee was set to graduate with a degree in Economics in May before he withdrew for undisclosed reasons.
According to Yee’s Facebook page, Yee was born in Alhambra and went to Valencia High School. Nothing in his profile suggests a violent nature, but Yee seemed to stop updating his page almost a year ago in October of 2011.
Yee was originally being held at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station on $1,000,000 bail, but it was reduced to a $100,000 bond, which was posted and Yee was released on September 20th.
Photo courtesy Google Maps
Read More:
KTLA: Man Suspected of Threatening Kids Faces Weapons Charge
NBC 4: Former Yale Student Accused of Threats Just “Guilty of Felony Stupid,” Defense Attorney Says
StarTribune: Lawyer: Man in violent online posts just ‘dumb’
