A 71-year-old man from Palm Springs suspected of mailing explicit criminal threats to a local news organization was arrested Wednesday.
The letters named individuals within the organization, which was not identified, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators initially received reports from the employees of the news organization in July 2024, prompting collaborative efforts with the U.S. Postal Service to identify a suspect responsible for the threats, authorities said.
Johnnie Pagels was located Wednesday at his residence on in the 200 block of East Alejo Road, near Indian Canyon Drive, where he was taken into custody by investigators from the Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station, with assistance from Business District Team personnel, after the execution of a search warrant, authorities said.
Pagels was booked at the John Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of criminal threats and stalking.
The investigation remains ongoing, with limited details about the alleged threats, the news organization, or the motive for the criminal threats and stalking behavior.
Anyone with additional information was urged to call Palm Desert Sheriff’s Station Investigator Brown at 760-835-1600.