Local News

Suspect in Custody for Threats to Washington Sheriff's over I-1639

Feb 20, 2019

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A 23-year-old Omak man was arrested Wednesday morning for allegedly threatening Sheriffs of Washington who spoke out against I-1639.

Okanogan County Sheriff Tony Hawley said a search warrant was served at the residence of Jaydin Ledford just before noon on Wednesday in connection with the threats.

The investigation began on February 4th after death threats were posted on Facebook stating “I-1639 is law. Sheriffs that are non-compliant will be shot. by me.” Another threat was aimed directly at the Spokane County Sheriff. It read, “Ozzie Knezovich is gonna get a bullet in his skull.”

The case was investigated by the FBI and JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force) along with Omak Police and Okanogan County Sheriff’s Detectives. Hawley said, “We learned early in the investigation that Ledford was a resident in Omak, WA.”

There was also a Facebook post on Ledford’s page stating “I really want to kill a police officer.” Hawley said, “These threats were taken very seriously and all Law Enforcement agencies in the area were notified to be cautious of Ledford, especially if they were to need to respond to a call for service involving him or in the area of his residence.”

Hawley said Ledford was taken in to custody without incident and was booked into the Okanogan County Jail on charges of Harassement – Threats to Kill and Intimidating a Public Servant. The Sheriff said Ledford was transferred to FBI custody Wednesday afternoon.

The FBI and JTTF are continuing to investigate the threats.