PSUSD Patrol Officer arrested in domestic extremism probe
A Cathedral City man who works as a District Patrol Officer for Palm Springs Unified School District has been arrested as part of an investigation into domestic extremism by an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The FBI task force alleges the suspect was an adherent of the QAnon conspiracy theory and a right-wing militia group involved in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
According to documents filed in Riverside County Superior Court, Alfredo Luna Jr., 41, a former Cathedral City police employee, was arrested on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, after a prior search of his home turned up an unregistered assault rifle.
News Channel 3 asked neighbors "Do you think he would cause any harm?"
"No, he doesn’t seem like that he’s very quiet to himself," said Patty Sanchez.
Luna was booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning and released the following day after posting $250,000 bail.
According to the arrest warrant, when authorities searched Luna's home, they found an unregistered Smith and Wesson assault rifle under his bed.
Investigators stated that when they questioned Luna about the gun, he said he had bought it from a former coworker at the Cathedral City Police Department during his time there, but could not remember the seller's name.
Authorities also seized six other guns registered to Luna in accordance with a temporary gun and ammunition restraining order authorities had obtained against Luna.
News Channel 3 asked one of his neighbor: "if that was alarming?"
"Yes, it is I have my three year old granddaughter living with me so we will be watching," said Sanchez. https://youtu.be/VIbMsJv7qpg
John Candias, a detective with the Rialto Police Department and member
of the FBI-JTTF-Riverside, wrote in a declaration in support of the arrest
warrant that Luna admitted to being an "adherent to the Qanon conspirator movement and the three-percenter (3%) militia group'' while being interviewed during the search.
QAnon is a group of right-wing conspiracy theorists who claim that former President Donald Trump is secretly saving the world from a cabal of child-eating Satanists, while the Three Percenters is a far-right, anti-government militia group.
Both groups have been linked to the riots at the U.S. Capitol building
on Jan. 6, though it was not alleged that Luna was involved in that action.
Candias goes on to write that Luna is a "former US Marine and fully
capable of inflicting lethal violence.''
In addition, the arrest warrant states that Luna had been ``posting
messages and images of his discontent for government officials and advocates others to carry out violence'' on social media and that his "behavior is consistent with pre-incident indicators of extreme violence.''
Exactly what was contained in the posts was not specified.
The Riverside County District Attorney's Office charged Luna with one
felony count of possessing an unregistered assault weapon on Jan. 19.
A spokesperson for Palm Springs Unified School District confirmed Luna was hired as a District Patrol Officer in the summer of 2020. Luna is now on administrative leave.
"Like all District employees, Mr. Luna was hired in accordance with
PSUSD Assistant Supt. of Human Resources Dr.
District hiring protocols, which include appropriate reference checks. All
other aspects of Mr. Luna's employment remain confidential in accordance
with District policy. Palm Springs Unified takes these matters seriously
and upon his arrest immediately placed Mr. Luna on administrative leave
pending an internal investigation."
Tony Signoret
