Alabama man arrested for alleged threats against OC Catholic abbey

SILVERADO CANYON, Calif. (KESQ) -  A 38-year-old Alabama man was charged Tuesday with making a series of threats toward a Roman Catholic abbey in Silverado Canyon, and he was carrying body armor, ammunition, brass knuckles and knives in his vehicle, sheriff's officials said today.

 Joshua Michael Richardson was charged with criminal threats, possession of a deadly weapon: metal knuckles, carrying a dirk or dagger, all felonies, and misdemeanor possession of a large capacity magazine. Richardson's arraignment on Tuesday was rescheduled for Wednesday in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.

Joshua Michael Richardson was arrested Thursday on suspicion of criminal threats aimed at St. Michael's Abbey, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff's officials said Richardson initially sent threatening emails to the church, then visited the facility "and made additional threats."   

A priest at the church reported the threats to the sheriff's department, and responding deputies quickly located Richardson, according to the agency.

"After searching his vehicle, they found body armor, high-capacity magazines, brass knuckles and knives,'' according to a sheriff's department statement. "He was arrested without further incident and booked into the Orange County Jail."

The arrest came one day after an assailant opened fire at a Catholic school church in Minneapolis, killing two young students and injuring more than a dozen others.