VENTURA : Man, 27, Sentenced for Terrorist Threats

A man convicted of making terrorist threats against an Oak View woman he knew from junior high school was sentenced to 16 months in state prison Tuesday and told to stay out of Ventura County.

Matthew James Towler, 27, pleaded guilty in January to making terrorist threats against Lisa Plott, the wife of county Fire Capt. Norman J. Plott. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to dismiss several other charges against Towler, including one misdemeanor count of stalking.

Superior Court Judge James M. McNally sentenced Towler to the shortest prison term possible, but added that he must stay out of the county upon his release.

Towler’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Douglas W. Daily, said McNally has no authority to enforce such an order. But he said state corrections officials could take the judge’s advice and set parole guidelines that prohibit Towler from returning to the county.

Towler was raised in the county and still has some family members who live here. He lives in Northern California, Daily said.

The defendant was arrested Nov. 29, 1993, after being spotted peeking into the mailbox of the victim, who attended junior high with Towler but had not seen him for more than a dozen years. The harassment began in 1990 with annoying and threatening phone calls and persisted for several years, authorities said.

Daily said Towler suffers from schizophrenia, which caused him to fixate on the victim. “It’s just one of those unfortunate things where his mental illness went unchecked,” Daily said.

With good-behavior time credits for his pre-sentence jail stay of nearly 11 months, Towler probably will be released within a few days, officials said.

Towler will move back to Northern California when released, Daily said.