Man accused of sending mail threats

A Pacific Grove man is scheduled to be arraigned today on charges he sent a threatening letter to a Costa Mesa business that contained an unidentified white powder.

Prosecutors said on Feb. 7, William Louis Poolman, 52, got a $68.50 parking ticket at Carpinteria State Beach, a one-mile stretch of beach camping grounds 12 miles south of Santa Barbara.

Poolman appealed the citation and asked for a review, but it was upheld March 12. Poolman was ordered to pay the fine to a Costa Mesa collection agency, Judicial Data Systems.

Along with the check, authorities claim, Poolman sent the company an alarming surprise.

He is accused of enclosing with his check a Request for Violation Review form and scribbling threats and profanity across the form and the memo section of his payment. The envelope also contained a gram of a white powdery substance, prosecutors said.

The letter arrived at Judicial Data Systems April 12 and emergency response personnel determined the letter was harmless.

Poolman was arrested Wednesday at the Monterey restaurant where he worked.

He’s charged with a felony count of mailing a false weapon of mass destruction causing fear and faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

— Joseph Serna