San Jose Man Indicted For Sending Death Threats Through Mail
A federal grand jury in San Jose has indicted a local man for mailing death threats to several Bay Area residents. The Contra Costa Times reported that the San Jose man’s threats were based on the sexual orientation, race, and religion of his intended victims.
Officials said the San Jose man, who has been identified as Robert Gary Toltzis, began sending threats in 2006 and they lasted until October 2013. The threats were sent through the U.S. mail, which is a federal offense and carries a potential sentence of five years in prison for each threat he made, if he is convicted.
The U.S. Attorney on the San Jose case, Melinda Haag, said that Toltzis, 52, sent the threats via mail, anonymous remailers, and email. Emailing death threats also constitutes a federal crime and is punishable by the same prison term of five years in prison for each incidence. Haag said the messages contained threats of death, bodily injury, and injury to reputation, as well as other forms of harassment.
As reported by the San Jose Mercury News, one of the indictments alleges that Toltzis claimed to be one of his victim’s when he sent a threatening letter to another person he had targeted. On the envelope containing the letter, yet another victim’s name and return address was listed. Other allegations were made that the San Jose man had sent copies of the threats to the co-workers or family members of his victims.
It isn’t clear how Toltzis chose his 16 victims, but the letters contained anti-homosexual slurs and multiple death threats. He also sent a letter with copies of two Craigslist postings showing images that were sexually graphic, a 9MM bullet, and a written message that read as follows.
“The pics do say it all you are a disease spreading drug addict… the bullet says it all: I am going to kill you!!!”
Toltzis sent a message to one of his victims urging him to kill himself and another letter went to the boss of a victim containing the victim’s picture and “HIV+” scrawled across the forehead. The San Jose resident is in the custody of a U.S. Marshal and is expected back in court on Monday.
Federal agencies take emailed death threats seriously, and have looked into another case earlier this year. The Inquisitr reported on the FBI investigating emailed threats made against Bowe Bergdahl after he was released from captivity in Afghanistan. The former prisoner of war had been imprisoned for five years in a prison affiliated with the Taliban.
