Bail increased for student accused of making death threats

Bail+increased+for+student+accused+of+making+death+threats

Updated: Nov. 25, 1:05 p.m. This story has been edited for clarity.

Updated: Oct. 21, 5:55 p.m.

The student who is accused of making death threats recently toward EC community members had his first court date today, where he pled not guilty. His bail was increased to $1.2 million and the distance in which he must stay away from EC was updated from 100 yards to 1,000 yards.

James Lemus, 35, told a Veterans Center employee Sept. 30 he was going to kill a teacher, administrators, parents, and children, staging a “massacre.”

“Broader threats were made in the nature of a mass killing,” Deputy District Attorney Patrick O’Crowley said at the hearing.

Lemus’ bail was originally set at $152,000, according to the L.A. County Sheriff Inmate Information Center. Judge Thomas Sokolov first raised Lemus’ bail to $1 million.

“The court will set reasonable bail, but the concern is public safety,” Sokolov said.

After O’ Crowley said Lemus violated a restraining order “approximately” in 2012, Sokolov increased Lemus’ bail to $1.2 million.

Lemus’ next court date is Nov. 4 at Torrance Courthouse.