VENTURA : Ex-Candidate Found Guilty of Threats

A former Thousand Oaks City Council candidate who proclaimed himself to be Christ was found guilty Wednesday of sending threatening letters to five public officials.

The Ventura County Superior Court jury deliberated for 6 1/2 hours before convicting Norman (Blackie) Jackson, 35, of five counts of threatening public officials.

Jackson sent letters July 6 threatening to hurt Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer, Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), Thousand Oaks City Manager Grant Brimhall and state Sen. Ed Davis (R-Santa Clarita) unless they responded to a variety of his complaints about Ventura County government.

Judge Lawrence Storch ordered a psychiatric evaluation for Jackson to determine whether he is a danger to the public and whether he qualifies for probation. The maximum penalty is five years in prison.

“I’m not going to get back at anybody. I appreciate everything. It was a fair verdict,” said Jackson, who had quoted Scripture and claimed he was Christ during a long, disjointed statement to jurors Tuesday.

During deliberations, the jury struggled most with the question of whether Jackson intended to harm the officials, said one juror, who asked not to be identified.

“We believed he wrote the letters out of frustration, and he didn’t expect them to change their views,” said the juror.

Another juror, Wendy Larner, said the jury thought Jackson’s rambling letters were “wild” and indicated he was mentally unstable.

Storch, however, had ruled Jackson was mentally competent to stand trial and allowed him to serve as co-counsel to his attorney, Jorge Alvarado.

Jackson is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail in Ventura County Jail pending his sentencing, scheduled for Jan. 16.