SANTA ANA : New Obscenity, Bomb Threat Charges Filed

The district attorney’s office filed additional charges Tuesday against a 27-year-old man accused of making as many as 100 bomb threats and obscene phone calls to women at area preschools, churches, shopping centers, hospitals and homes.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Clyde Von Der Ahe filed an amended complaint in Central Municipal Court against Joseph Rocha Valenzuela, charging him with nine additional felony counts of making bomb threats to women countywide. Valenzuela was arraigned earlier this month on eight felony counts of the same charges.

Valenzuela allegedly made more than 50 calls to women in Santa Ana alone, police investigators said. Authorities expect to charge him with additional counts as their investigation continues.

Even if additional counts are charged, “the maximum sentence (Valenzuela) could face for making bomb threats is eight years in state prison” if convicted, Von Der Ahe said.

Valenzuela was arrested March 8 at his 6th Street home after a seven-month investigation in which police assertedly traced to his home phone numerous obscene calls that began with a bomb threat.

Police said Valenzuela chose his victims arbitrarily by using the phone book to pick out businesses and institutions where it was likely that a woman would answer the phone. Valenzuela allegedly told them that he would blow them up if they didn’t answer his questions, most of which were sexually explicit, police said.

According to police reports, Valenzuela was arrested after his mother and others identified his voice on calls taped by authorities.

The mother also provided to police phone bills that listed numbers belonging to victims who reported the calls and bomb threats to police, the reports stated.

Valenzuela is in custody in County Jail and has been denied bail because he was on parole at the time of his arrest.

Valenzuela was convicted in 1985 of attempted robbery and again in 1986 for robbery. He was paroled in May, 1988, but was returned to prison for an unspecified parole violation. He was paroled again on April 2, 1990.