Local News in Brief : Woman Charged in Threats to Actor

A woman accused of sending more than 5,000 letters threatening to kill actor Michael J. Fox was has been charged with five counts of making terrorist threats.

Tina M. Ledbetter, 26, who was released on $50,000 bail earlier this month following her arrest Feb. 3, could be sentenced to up to three years in prison on each count if convicted, Deputy Dist. Atty. Norman J. Shapiro said.

Ledbetter, of Camarillo, allegedly initiated her letter-writing campaign in early 1988 because she was upset over Fox’s marriage.

Shapiro said that, although Ledbetter has no criminal record and cannot be labeled as a “terrorist” in the traditional sense, he filed the “terrorist threats” counts against her because no other law allows prosecution of suspects who intend to terrorize their victims by threatening to kill them.

The threatening letters, all sent to Fox at Paramount Studios in Hollywood, prompted the star of the NBC television series “Family Ties” to hire a bodyguard for himself and his pregnant wife.