Warning: The following article contains disturbing content.
A Sacramento man has been arrested in Oklahoma for mailing interstate threats, some containing white powder, to various individuals and organizations across the United States.
Darnell Ray Owens, 32, was taken into custody on March 22 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after being charged in Sacramento with mailing threatening communications and a hoax involving biological weapons, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.
According to the criminal complaint, between February 2018 and March 2019, Owens allegedly sent approximately 50 letters and online complaints to law enforcement agencies, individuals, and organizations, in which he made threats to kill police officers, other government officials, homosexuals, and “white people.”
The majority of the letters were sent via the U.S. Postal Service and were postmarked from Sacramento. Owens allegedly used return addresses of people he knew with the apparent purpose of having others blamed for sending the letters.
Some of the letters contained white powder, which Owens allegedly intended for the recipients to believe was a biological weapon. One such letter was sent to a church in Dallas, Texas, with a threat to assassinate the pastor. Another letter was sent to the Sacramento County Department of Revenue Recovery, threatening to burn down the department and kill “a lot of people.”
Owens also allegedly sent a letter to the Sacramento County District Attorney, threatening her life. The last letter Owens allegedly sent was to a television news station, KTXL Fox40, threatening to kill certain employees at the station.
This case is the product of an ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the City of Sacramento Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, Owens faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison for each count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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