A Manteca man accused of threatening staff members at the office of U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, was found guilty by Judge Nancy Fineman of multiple counts of felony threats Friday, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
Ronald Joseph Lafaye, 53, was convicted of three counts of felony threats, three counts of felony threatening a government official and three counts of misdemeanor repeated annoying phone calls on the fourth day of his court trial, according to prosecutors.
Having spoken with a staff member at Speier’s office on the phone in December of 2017, Lafaye is said to have left 12 voicemails with her office March 19, 2018. Including complaints about the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and police officers, disparaging remarks about her staff members and threats to kill and harm staff members, the voicemails also contained claims Lafaye was assaulted in the past while a witness was watching, according to prosecutors.
Lafaye, who identified himself in some of the voicemails, is also to have said he had no problem with Speier and prayed for her when he was in school. With a previous record for making criminal threats, Lafaye was extradited from Oregon where he was found at a Days Inn to face charges, according to prosecutors. In the third day of his court trial, a forensic psychologist called by Lafaye’s defense attorney testified that Lafaye suffers from borderline personality disorder and alcohol abuse and threats such as the ones he made last year are symptoms of the disorder, according to prosecutors.
In custody on $150,000 bail, Lafaye will return to court July 25 for sentencing, according to prosecutors.
Lafaye’s defense attorney Jeff Jackson could not be immediately reached for comment.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.