Man Found Guilty in Web Threat on Policeman

VENTURA — An anti-government sympathizer, who last year posted an online threat against a Ventura police officer, was found guilty Tuesday of three felony charges in one of Ventura County’s first cyber crime cases.

Alan Russell Neuman, 34, was convicted of making terrorist threats against the officer by posting a “Wanted: Dead or Alive” sign with the officer’s name and physical description on his Web page.

The notice stated that Officer Rod Giles was a criminal whom viewers of the site should use “extreme prejudice in apprehending.” It also read: “What part of thou shalt not steal do you not understand?”

Months earlier, Giles had stopped Neuman for driving an unlicensed vehicle. Neuman was cited and his car impounded. The online threat was later noticed by a state justice department official who monitors militia activity.

Superior Court Judge Ken Riley found Neuman guilty of making terrorist threats--a felony that carries a maximum three-year prison sentence. He also found Neuman guilty of two felony and one misdemeanor counts of possession of child pornography, which authorities found on Neuman’s computer when they seized it last May.