Police investigators have determined that recent suspicious mail received by Riverbank Mayor Virginia Madueno was not threatening and described it as nothing more than "ramblings."
Over the last month, Madueno received five of the puzzling letters addressed to her at city hall. The letters contained symbols, drawings, and wording that included the phrase "shot to head" in one of the letters.
Madueno said when she opened the first letter, she was preparing to go into a meeting in Modesto. She had picked up her city mail at city hall on her way from Riverbank.
"I wasn't frightened at all," said Madueno. "One of the persons I was with, however, said I should still report it."
Riverbank Police Chief Bill Pooley said when Madueno contacted him, he immediately assigned the case to a detective.
"With what's happened in Arizona and around the country, you can't take these things lightly," Pooley said. "If an individual is out there sending odd letters, we want to make sure there's no threats."
Since reporting the incident to the police, Madueno said she's received four additional letters at her city hall mailbox, all with the same name and telephone number of the sender. She received the last letter on Friday, March 11. City hall staff would notify Madueno when the letters would arrive and she would have them forwarded to the police for their investigation.
She's since learned the name and number written on them were fictitious.
Pooley, who's examined all five of the letters, confirmed that the letters contained drawings, symbols, and "sayings."
"It was very difficult to make sense of what the drawings and symbols were supposed to mean," Pooley said.
The investigation revealed that the return information on the letters did not exist, but detectives were able to identify and contact an individual living in the unincorporated area of the county who admitted sending the letters.
Detectives at the scene interviewed the individual and were able to obtain a consent search of his residence. No weapons were located but investigators found other letters addressed to local utility companies and businesses with the same content of drawings and symbols.
Pooley, who declined to name the individual since no arrest was made, described the sender as a male in his 50s with no prior contacts with the sheriff's department.
According to police, the subject was instructed to cease sending the letters and he agreed to cooperate. Police have also referred the individual to Adult Protective Services.
Over the last month, Madueno received five of the puzzling letters addressed to her at city hall. The letters contained symbols, drawings, and wording that included the phrase "shot to head" in one of the letters.
Madueno said when she opened the first letter, she was preparing to go into a meeting in Modesto. She had picked up her city mail at city hall on her way from Riverbank.
"I wasn't frightened at all," said Madueno. "One of the persons I was with, however, said I should still report it."
Riverbank Police Chief Bill Pooley said when Madueno contacted him, he immediately assigned the case to a detective.
"With what's happened in Arizona and around the country, you can't take these things lightly," Pooley said. "If an individual is out there sending odd letters, we want to make sure there's no threats."
Since reporting the incident to the police, Madueno said she's received four additional letters at her city hall mailbox, all with the same name and telephone number of the sender. She received the last letter on Friday, March 11. City hall staff would notify Madueno when the letters would arrive and she would have them forwarded to the police for their investigation.
She's since learned the name and number written on them were fictitious.
Pooley, who's examined all five of the letters, confirmed that the letters contained drawings, symbols, and "sayings."
"It was very difficult to make sense of what the drawings and symbols were supposed to mean," Pooley said.
The investigation revealed that the return information on the letters did not exist, but detectives were able to identify and contact an individual living in the unincorporated area of the county who admitted sending the letters.
Detectives at the scene interviewed the individual and were able to obtain a consent search of his residence. No weapons were located but investigators found other letters addressed to local utility companies and businesses with the same content of drawings and symbols.
Pooley, who declined to name the individual since no arrest was made, described the sender as a male in his 50s with no prior contacts with the sheriff's department.
According to police, the subject was instructed to cease sending the letters and he agreed to cooperate. Police have also referred the individual to Adult Protective Services.
