Man charged in alleged threat against D.A.

The state attorney general’s office has filed five felony counts against a Perris man accused of making a death threat against Riverside Dist. Atty. Rod Pacheco in a yard sale ad that ran in the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Aug. 25.

Chandler William Cardwell, 32, an employee of the newspaper’s classified department, is expected to be arraigned this afternoon. Police identified him as a member of an East Riverside gang.

The attorney general’s office, which is handling the case, charged Cardwell with threatening an elected public official with death or great bodily injury, forging a check, and illegal possession of a .45-caliber Glock handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun. Cardwell also faces gang enhancements as a result of allegations that he committed the crimes on behalf of the East Side Riva gang. The ad listed a “Big Blowout” yard sale and gave Pacheco’s home address and cellphone number. The ad said proceeds would “benefit [the] Rod Pacheco memorial fund.”