A Santa Maria man was arrested March 13, after he allegedly called the SLO County Sheriff’s Department to make death threats against U.S. Rep. Lois Capps. While Capps was not in the area at the time of the threat, deputies apparently took the alleged threats seriously, obtaining a search warrant and arresting him within four hours of the call.
Paul Patrick Dugal allegedly called the Sheriff’s Department at around 6:30 that evening. Sheriff’s spokesman Rob Bryn would not give details about what Dugal may have said, but noted that there are certain “triggers” that make people in law enforcement take threats seriously. Dugal is currently being held on $1 million bail, and will be arraigned on charges of making criminal threats.
A representative for Capps said she would not be commenting on the incident.
This article appears in Mar 19-26, 2009.