Man Convicted of Threatening Police Officer on Web Page

An anti-government sympathizer who last year posted an online threat against a Ventura police officer was found guilty Tuesday of three felony charges in one of this county’s first cyber crime cases.

Alan Russell Neuman, 34, was convicted of making terrorist threats against the officer by posting a “Wanted: Dead or Alive” sign with the officer’s name and physical description on his Web page.

The notice stated that Ventura Police Department Officer Rod Giles was a criminal whom viewers of the site should use “extreme prejudice in apprehending.” It also read: “What part of thou shalt not steal do you not understand?”

Months earlier, Giles stopped Neuman for driving an unlicensed vehicle. Neuman was cited and his car impounded. The online threat was later noticed by a state Justice Department official who monitors militia activity.

Prosecutors charged Neuman with making terrorist threats, solicitation of murder and solicitation of kidnapping.

But Superior Court Judge Ken Riley, who presided over the trial instead of a jury, found insufficient evidence to support the two solicitation charges.

Instead, Riley found Neuman guilty of making terrorist threats--a felony that carries a maximum three-year prison sentence.

Ventura Police Lt. Gary McCaskill praised the ruling, saying it shows the community that threats against law enforcement will not be tolerated.

“We are very pleased that he is going to be held accountable for his actions,” McCaskill said. “Nobody should be subjected to death threats.”

Riley also found Neuman guilty of two felony counts and one misdemeanor count of possession of child pornography, which authorities found on Neuman’s computer when they seized it last May.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Scott Hendrickson argued at trial that Neuman intended to distribute the images over the Internet for money. At one point during the case, authorities accused Neuman of operating a “child porn shop.”

Defense attorneys countered that there was no evidence Neuman intended to sell the pictures.

Deputy Public Defender Brian Vogel argued that the identities of the people depicted is unknown. He suggested that the images could have been “morphed”--with underage faces placed on adult bodies--to give the illusion of children engaged in sexual conduct.

Local authorities began investigating Neuman after receiving a tip from a state Department of Justice employee who does online research of potential terrorist and anti-government groups.

According to police, Neuman posted his threatening sign against Giles after being pulled over by the officer in December 1998. It was not the first time he’d been stopped and found to be driving without a state license plate, according to his arrest record.

Authorities say Neuman, who lived in a Ventura-area trailer and worked at odd jobs, does not believe in government intervention.

Those views prompted Hendrickson to urge the judge not to release Neuman from custody pending a May 5 sentencing hearing.

Saying that the defendant is a flight risk, the prosecutor reminded Riley of a statement Neuman once made about his ability to “go underground.”

But Riley ordered Neuman, who has remained in custody in lieu of $500,000 bail for nearly a year, released on his own recognizance.

“Mr. Neuman, I think the person who would be hurt most if you don’t come back would be you,” the judge said.

After the hearing, Vogel said his client faces up to 14 years in state prison at sentencing. But Vogel said Neuman could serve less time if the judge allows him to serve the three felonies concurrently.

Vogel also indicated Neuman’s case would be appealed.