East Windsor Regional School District was among recipients.
By: Vic Monaco
A Croydon, Pa., man could face a maximum jail sentence of 10 years after
being charged with sending threatening letters to municipal entities and
school districts, including East Windsor Regional.
James Thomas Weed, 55, turned himself in to the FBI on Friday and appeared
in federal court in Philadelphia, where he was charged with sending a
threatening communication through the mail, according to Rich Manieri, a
spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He was released on his own recognizance.
Law enforcement officials say Mr. Weed sent eight letters, received between
Nov. 1 and Nov. 6, threatening violence akin to that which occurred in
October at a schoolhouse near Lancaster, Pa. Five children were killed in
that incident.
The letters also reference racial profiling or racial remarks purportedly
made by unnamed police officers or schoolteachers. An FBI probe concluded
that Mr. Weed had indeed received traffic tickets in East Windsor and
Middletown, a Pennsylvania community that also received a letter.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office requested and the judge agreed that Mr. Weed
undergo a full mental health evaluation, Mr. Manieri said. Mr. Weed’s travel
also was restricted to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which comprises
Philadelphia and nine surrounding counties and does not include New Jersey,
he added.
Mr. Weed is a contract employee with Bucks County Piano Co. in Levittown,
Pa., and lives with his daughter, according to an affidavit supplied by the
U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He has no criminal history, Mr. Manieri said.
For much more on this story, see the Windsor-Hights Herald’s Jan. 26 edition.