San Gabriel threat defendant drops out of Cuesta College
An 18-year-old facing criminal charges for his alleged role in threats made at San Gabriel Elementary School in September is no longer enrolled at Cuesta College, according to college officials.
Last week, a concerned parent of Cuesta College students told The Tribune that he and other parents are worried for their teenagers’ safety after learning that Bret Stephen Landen of Atascadero was taking classes at the community college despite a court order that appeared to bar him from any school campus other than one in Atascadero.
At his Dec. 18 arraignment, Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy issued a court order stating that Landen must not use or possess any weapons, firearms or ammunition, nor be in any place where those items are present. In addition, she ordered Landen to stay at least 100 yards away from “any school” with the exception of Chalk Mountain Community School in Atascadero, a county-run school for at-risk youths.
On March 9, Cuesta College spokeswoman Lauren Milbourne said Landen was registered for 11 units and had been enrolled since the beginning of the spring 2016 semester. Classes began Jan. 19.
On Monday, Cuesta College officials announced that Landen was no longer enrolled at the school. Milbourne clarified that he voluntarily dropped out of his classes.
Landen has pleaded not guilty to 27 counts of making threats to commit a crime of violence, two counts of second-degree commercial burglary and one count of threatening to use a weapon of mass destruction.
At his next court hearing in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Wednesday, Cuesta officials and prosecutors will seek clarification from Duffy regarding the court order.
“Cuesta College has been in the process of obtaining clarification from the District Attorney’s Office on the meaning of ‘school’ in order to understand whether the college has the legal authority to enforce the court order,” the school said in a prepared statement.
On Sept. 11, staff members at San Gabriel Elementary School found letters outside classrooms that instructed them to “play a game,” similar to the popular “Saw” horror film franchise. In one letter, the writer instructed teachers to locate sets of keys for classrooms and for padlocks left on school gates. The letter instructed staff to retrieve keys from a candleholder zip-tied to a chain-link fence near the playground that contained an unknown liquid.
Atascadero police Chief Jerel Haley previously said the liquid was determined to be a combination of low-grade cyanide — a form found in several common household products — and acid.
The school was closed for two weeks following the incident, costing the Atascadero Unified School District an estimated $206,000. The district has filed for restitution in Landen’s criminal case.
No one was injured in the incident.
This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 5:30 PM with the headline "San Gabriel threat defendant drops out of Cuesta College."