Man Held in Anthrax Hoax Against Colleague

A Glendora man has been charged with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction for allegedly giving a co-worker an envelope as part of an anthrax hoax, prosecutors said Thursday.

Authorities said 38-year-old Robert Michael Guerrero passed a colleague an envelope containing white powder with a note that read, “You’ve been infected.”

Officials determined that the powder was not anthrax.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office on Wednesday charged Guerrero with threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction and making a criminal threat.

Sheriff’s deputies arrested him Monday after investigating the letter, which they say was given to an employee of Aerosol Service Co. Oct. 24 in Industry. Officials used a bloodhound to trace the letter to its sender.

Guerrero, who was scheduled to be arraigned today in Los Angeles Superior Court, was being held at Twin Towers Jail on $560,000 bail, authorities said. If convicted, Guerrero could face seven years in prison. He has a previous conviction for grand theft, authorities said.

This marks the second felony case filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors involving an anthrax hoax, said district attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison.

In October, an employee of the Queen Mary was arrested and charged with making criminal threats after allegedly writing an anthrax warning on a white five-gallon bucket of rotten beans and chili. The bucket was discovered in a dumpster on the floating tourist attraction in Long Beach, authorities said.

The suspect in that case, Dionicio Garcia, is due in court next month for a preliminary hearing, officials said.

Officials said three other people, including a Los Angeles fire captain, have been charged by federal authorities in Los Angeles with mailing threatening letters that directly or indirectly raised the specter of an anthrax attack.