Former Nuclear Worker Charged With Threats

Teary-eyed and wearing a yellow jail jumpsuit, former San Onofre nuclear plant worker David L. Reza stood mute in an Orange County courtroom Thursday as he was charged with threatening to kill two former co-workers.

Reza, 44, an avid gun collector who had a rocky history with his San Onofre bosses, faces 13 counts, including making criminal threats, possession of illegal assault weapons and drug violations. More charges could be filed as investigators sort through about 270 weapons they reportedly found in Reza’s Laguna Niguel home and a San Juan Capistrano storage garage.

Reza was arrested late Tuesday following an investigation that began after he told a former co-worker Jan. 4 that he was “going to take my guns, go to San Onofre and whack a bunch of people.”

His long hair pulled back in a ponytail, Reza cried softly through much of his court appearance. He spoke only when Superior Court Judge Carlton P. Biggs asked if he was David Reza. “Ree-za, sir,” he corrected.

Arraignment was postponed until Jan. 18. Reza was returned to jail without bond.

He faces up to six years in state prison if convicted of the charges, which include both felony and misdemeanor counts. He is accused of possessing a Bushmaster XM-15 assault rifle and an M1 carbine with an illegal pistol hand grip. He also is charged with illegal possession of tear gas, tracer ammunition, hand grenades, metal knuckles and a switchblade; and with illegally carrying a handgun in his car.

Protective Order Issued

Investigators said they found the handgun when Reza arrived home Tuesday evening. Drug charges were based on cocaine and drug paraphernalia they allegedly found in the house.

Outside the courtroom, Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Elizabeth Henderson said that Reza was charged with making specific threats against two former colleagues and that Biggs issued a protective order barring Reza from contacting plant employees or officials from his union. The Utility Workers Union of America Local 246 is representing Reza in connection with his December dismissal for absenteeism.

“They’re scared for their lives,” Henderson said of the two people Reza allegedly targeted in his threat.

Reza’s girlfriend and roommate, Kristi Mattauch, Thursday repeated earlier denials that Reza had threatened anyone or that he owned illegal weapons.

“I know it’s a misunderstanding,” she said, surrounded by a dozen friends and relatives. “This is a big corporation picking on a small union worker. They’ve really blown this all out of proportion.”

Reza grew up in the Toledo, Ohio, area but has lived in Southern California since at least the early 1980s, when he was a Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, according to his ex-wife.

Cynthia J. Hoffman, now of Tacoma, Wash., said that she was married to Reza about two years and that they had a daughter together, who is now 19.

She described the marriage as uneven and said she left California to get away from Reza.

Hoffman has sued him for unpaid child support and twice had his wages garnisheed. He was supposed to pay $300 a month in support.

The last time she had contact with him, she said, was last summer, when he sent a birthday present to their daughter.

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Times staff writer Jack Leonard contributed to this report.