Man Charged with Threatening Police Chief and Deputy City Attorney for City of North Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS—A man has been charged with sending threatening e-mails to the Chief of Police and Chief Deputy City Attorney for the City of North Las Vegas, according to a two-count Indictment handed up by the Federal Grand Jury on Wednesday, July 29, 2009, announced Greg Brower, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Eric Leon Christian, 37, of Las Vegas, is charged with two counts of Interstate Communications. According to the indictment and criminal complaint, on about May 31, 2009, Eric Christian allegedly sent an e-mail to City of North Las Vegas Police Chief Joe Forti’s work e-mail account requesting Forti’s assistance in removing Christian’s car from a towing impound lot. On June 1, 2009, Christian sent another e-mail to Chief Forti’s work e-mail account threatening to injure Chief Forti if Chief Forti did not assist the defendant in retrieving his vehicle from the towing impound lot. Some of the e-mail stated, “I will have to kill to retrieve my stolen and items if you do not retrieve them,” and “Get my (expletive) car or watch a terrorist car thief DIE!!!”

On about June 4, 2009, Christian allegedly sent a threatening e-mail to City of North Las Vegas Chief Deputy City Attorney Michael Davidson. After requesting information regarding two court cases, Christian wrote, “Do not ignore me, because I just get more persistent and pissed the (expletive) off. It would be best to get the Writ of Habeas Corpus out of the way that way I don’t need to get a mob together and start a civil war to kidd Judge Van Landeschoot or YOU for terrorizing and violating the rights of American citizens!”

Christian was arrested on June 25, 2009, in Las Vegas, and is currently in federal custody. He is scheduled to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peggy Leen on August 7, 2009, at 8:30 a.m. for an arraignment and plea. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lucas M. Foletta.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.