A former sound designer for a video game company in Irvine was charged with sending a threat to his employer, according to court records obtained Monday.
William James Brandt, 46, of Irvine, was charged with a felony count of delivery of a threatening letter with the intent to extort and a misdemeanor count of annoying repeated telephone calls. He was scheduled to be arraigned sometime Monday in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana.
Brandt is accused of threatening Lightspeed LA and its parent company, Tencent America LLC, on Aug. 9. The phone calls were made July 31, the complaint alleged.
Last month, Irvine police filed a gun violence emergency protection order against Brandt to compel him to surrender any firearms.
Officials at Lightspeed LA had reported Aug. 5 that Brandt was “exhibiting erratic and threatening behavior at his workplace,” police said in the petition for the protection order.
“On July 29 … Brandt became verbally aggressive with a member of Lightspeed LA human resources department after a meeting,” police said.
Brandt was ordered to work from home, but he then “threatened to violate an NDA agreement and the human resources employee was visibly upset after a meeting with Brandt, so the company deactivated his access to the workplace. Brandt then made multiple concerning statements and veiled, implied threats through text messages to various other employees at Lightspeed LA.”
While Brandt did not issue any direct threats “it was clear that Brandt intended to imply his threats with the intent to create fear and possibly hint to others about potential future targeted violence,” police said.
In one message, he allegedly said, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way… You call the ball,” according to police.
“They can eat (expletive),” he allegedly added in other message, according to police. “I’m coming for them. It’s personal. I don’t care what happens to me. Prison. Don’t matter. Now you guys get cut off.”
Company officials also won a restraining order against him through Sept. 2, 2028, according to court records.