Marin Teen May Be Charged for E-Mail Hoax

UC Berkeley law enforcement officials said an e-mail hoax seeking advice on carrying out a shooting at UC Berkeley was sent to an attorney in Florida early Saturday morning by a 14-year-old resident of San Anselmo, Calif.

Miami attorney and activist against violent video games Jack Thompson, who said he has argued against the use of such games on many television networks last week, received an anonymous e-mail that asked him what the best weapon would be to execute a shooting at UC Berkeley, he said.

“I don’t understand how anybody in the aftermath of what the country went through thought an e-mail like this would be funny or cute,” he said.

Thompson notified UCPD of the e-mail on Saturday morning, and it was traced later that day to a residence in San Anselmo, said UCPD Lt. Doug Wing.

The threat came the morning of Cal Day, but the day’s activities were not affected, Wing said.

“We had a sufficient amount of staffing, as we have for every Cal Day,” Wing said. “The officers patrolling were made aware of the threat so they could use that information while they were out there patrolling campus.”

Thompson said he also contacted the FBI and his personal friend, Douglas J. Hagmann, who is a licensed private investigator and specializes in cyber investigation.

Hagmann said it was possible to track the e-mail to a residence in Marin County because of the recorded path of the e-mail included in the message.

Hagmann forwarded his findings to UCPD, who then confirmed that the e-mail came from the San Anselmo residence, Wing said.

UCPD obtained a search warrant for the residence and determined that the e-mail was a hoax that had been sent by a 14-year-old male who lived in the residence, he said.

“Basically, we determined the 14-year-old did not have the means or will to carry out the threat,” Wing said. “But, even when these things turn out to be hoaxes, we take them seriously.”

The 14-year-old has been cited in Marin County juvenile court and could be charged with making criminal threats, Wing said.

Although the FBI was initially involved, the investigation is ongoing and has been turned over entirely to UCPD, Wing said.

Thompson, who has spoken publicly against violent video games, said he often receives e-mails that threaten him, but this was the first e-mail that referred to an outside institution.

“The likelihood was that it was a hoax, but I would have felt really bad if I had guessed wrong on that,” he said.

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