Threats

Former Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano and another man were sentenced to three years in prison Friday after pleading no contest to charges that they threatened a Los Angeles Times reporter in 2002. Pellicano, 65, and Alexander Proctor, 66, were charged with threatening reporter Anita Busch, who was doing investigative research on Hollywood industry figures. Busch found a dead fish with a rose in its mouth on her car's shattered windshield along with a sign reading "Stop," according to prosecutors.

A Wisconsin man was arrested in Mississippi after authorities said he threatened on the Internet to kill President-elect Barack Obama. Steven Joseph Christopher, 42, was taken into custody by the Secret Service in Brookhaven, Miss., after he allegedly threatened to assassinate Obama for what he claimed was "the country's own good," federal prosecutors said. Christopher allegedly made the threats Jan. 11 and 15 on a website. An affidavit from the Secret Service quotes Christopher as saying that he has nothing personal against Obama and that he's not a racist.

Authorities were searching Friday for a woman who they believe intends to kill her two children and herself. Lisa Ruelas took her sons, ages 5 and 10, from their Altadena home Thursday, leaving a note telling of her murder-suicide plan, sheriff's officials said. Ruelas' husband died about 18 months ago and she could be depressed, Sheriff's Lt. Greg Sisneros told KABC-TV Channel 7. He said authorities began searching for the family after friends found the home empty and the note inside.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and three top government ministers have been sent anonymous death threats in letters stuffed with bullets, a judicial official said in Paris. Counter-terrorism agents are investigating the mailings to Sarkozy, Justice Minister Rachida Dati, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and Culture Minister Christine Albanel, the official said. The two-page, typed form letters feature disjointed messages addressed to "purveyors of freedom-killing and fascist laws," the official said.

The U.S. Embassy authorized nonessential staff and family to leave Sudan, saying protests against the indictment of the country's president by the International Criminal Court increased the danger of anti-Western violence. The Sudanese government expelled aid groups from the Darfur region. The embassy said it had received information on terrorist threats aimed at American and European interests in Sudan. It gave no details.

With the seal of Santa Barbara County's district attorney on its cover, the envelope caught Jennifer Osborn's attention immediately. And when she opened it, Osborn read something startling: She was being accused of a crime. The letter, dated October 2008, alleged that Osborn had "violated criminal statutes by issuing a bad check." She faced up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine unless she made good, paid $215 in fees and spent a Saturday at a "financial accountability class." The letter stunned the college sophomore.

The owner of a towing company convicted of threatening a Bell Gardens City Council member has been sentenced to jail, authorities said Friday. Shahram Ali Shayesteh, 42, was convicted in January of threatening Councilman Daniel Crespo two years ago, district attorney's spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephen Marcus sentenced Shayesteh on Wednesday to 360 days in jail. -- Jack Leonard

A 47-year-old La Mesa man was convicted in federal court Tuesday of making death threats against Barack Obama during the presidential race. Walter Edward Bagdasarian faces a 10-year prison term when sentenced Oct. 26. U.S. District Judge Marilyn Huff rejected Bagdasarian's lawyer's assertion that his client was drunk when he left messages on an Internet site using a racial slur and suggesting that Obama would soon be shot in the head with a...

Authorities say a New Jersey teenager threatened to rape and kill his teacher if she did not give his entire class an "A++" for the last school year. Authorities said the 14-year-old boy made the threats in an e-mail. He has been identified only as a student at the Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology. He is also accused of threatening to rape the teacher's mother and sister if the grades were not changed within 48 hours. The boy turned himself in to Passaic County authorities and was charged with making terrorist threats and criminal coercion.

A city councilman was released from jail Saturday after being arrested on suspicion of threatening his wife, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Councilman Rick Ramirez, 41, first elected in 2003, was released on $50,000 bond, said Lt. John Gannon of the Norwalk sheriff's station. Ramirez was booked for allegedly making "criminal threats" against his wife, Gannon said. Sheriff's deputies responded late Friday to the councilman's home in the 11000 block of Pluton Street after his wife notified police of the alleged threats, Gannon said.