Lompoc man accused of threatening to kill bystanders, police near Porto’s in Burbank
A Lompoc man accused of threatening customers at Porto’s Bakery and Cafe in Burbank on Friday with a piece of scrap metal was charged on Tuesday with assault with a deadly weapon.
Kyle Thomas, 31, was also charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office with two counts of resisting an officer and one count of vandalism.
Sometime before 10:15 a.m., Thomas was reportedly seen walking down the middle of Magnolia Boulevard near Hollywood Way screaming and shouting expletives at customers outside the restaurant while wielding a 16-inch long piece of scrap metal, according to Sgt. Derek Green with the Burbank Police Department.
He allegedly threatened to kill people with the piece of metal and used it to shatter the window of a passing vehicle, Green added.
When officers arrived on the scene, Thomas allegedly raised the piece of metal over his head and threatened them with it if they got closer.
“[The officers] drew their less-lethal weapons and pointed at him and told him to drop it,” Green said. “He didn’t comply and, as they got closer to him, he threatened to kill the officers.”
According to Green, officers ended up “formulating a plan and approached [Thomas] from two directions, where he finally dropped the piece of metal.”
In a video of the confrontation posted on social media, two officers with their weapons drawn can be seen approaching Thomas, who quickly throws the metal to the ground.
While talking to the officers, Thomas can be heard in the video saying he doesn’t “want to be cuffed anymore” and that the officers should “go get the mayor to talk about my situation.”
Two more officers arrived, and he was taken into custody without further incident.
Thomas is currently being held on $100,000 bail.
