Man arrested after death threat against Oakdale mayor

OAKDALE -- A former Oakdale resident is in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail after making death threats against Mayor Pat Paul. Oakdale police have been looking for the man since late December when he allegedly sent an e-mail to the city expressing disapproval of its part in the displacement of an elderly man.

Jonathan Pitts, 41, was arrested Thursday by San Francisco police. A former Oakdale resident, Pitts was also a former student of Paul’s, according to Police Chief Marty West. He had been living in San Francisco for several years, most recently at the upscale Drake Hotel in Union Square.

“He was making threats to kill the mayor based on erroneous information,” West said.

In the e-mail dated Dec. 30, Pitts allegedly wrote: “I have just issued a death threat against the mayor of a small California, agricultural redneck s***head place where I grew up.”

He goes on to say that the city was responsible for the foreclosed home of a 98-year-old man.

Paul contacted the homeowner, whom she knew to be a longtime Oakdale resident. She found that he was still living in his home and that it was not in foreclosure.

The e-mail went on to say the writer would hold the mayor “accountable” and advising her “to quit office,” then closed by saying, “I shall become the best friend you will ever have, or I am going to work to become your worst nightmare.”

The name “John Stone” was in the e-mail, but detectives traced the e-mail address to Pitts.

After his arrest Thursday, Pitts was driven to Stanislaus County and booked on suspicion of making terrorist threats against an elected official.