Deputies, Police Get Yule Cards With Threats

Narcotics officers from three Ventura County law enforcement agencies have received threats in Christmas cards from a group that has claimed responsibility for a pipe bomb attack in Oxnard, authorities said Monday.

The threats are “very general in nature and not directed at any specific officer,” Ventura County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Vince France said.

He declined to disclose the cards’ precise contents, although copies of their front covers, showing a small girl watching a kitten, were released in hopes of triggering tips from the public that might point to suspects.

The cards, postmarked in Oxnard, were received Friday at offices of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and the Oxnard and Ventura police departments. Those three agencies, along with the United States Postal Service, have created a task force to investigate two recent pipe bomb attacks in Ventura County.

In letters mailed to law enforcement agencies and a local newspaper, a group calling itself the People’s Liberation Army has claimed responsibility for a pipe bomb explosion Sept. 12 that wounded the 7-year-old stepson of an Oxnard narcotics detective.

Bomb, Poison Claimed

The group also claimed responsibility when a powerful pipe bomb was mailed to the home of a Ventura County Sheriff’s Department narcotics detective and when candy laced with insecticide was sent to a Ventura police narcotics officer. No one was injured in either of the two incidents.

The shadowy group has also threatened to target the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in a letter signed by the PLA.

Despite three months of investigation, however, authorities said they do not know whether the PLA is the product of one individual or of a group. Its motivation also remains unclear.

France said the letters have been turned over to a federal Postal Service laboratory in Virginia for analysis.

Ventura County authorities have also enlisted the help of the FBI, and psycholinguistics experts at the agency are analyzing previous letters to formulate a psychological profile of the bombing suspect.

The three Ventura County agencies have tightened security measures at department offices and warned officers and their families to beware of unexpected packages.

France said no additional security measures have been taken since the latest threats.

A total of $32,000 in reward money from several law enforcement associations has been offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for the incidents.