By Miriam Raftery

August 1, 2013 (Lakeside) – Lakeside resident Dennis Richardson was shocked to find a gift-wrapped box outside his home left around 1:20 a.m. on Tuesday,  July 30 with a hand-scrawled threat reading “Someone’s gonna get beat with my bat!”  He called the Sheriff, who dispatched a Bomb-Arson team to blow up the box as a suspicious device. 

After the explosion, they found a dead rabbit in the box with a red ribbon tied around its neck. Surveillance video showed four male suspects in light-colored clothing—and they left behind clues, including a shoebox for men’s athletic shoes, size 13, white Active Performance Succeed- manufactured by Champion and sold locally at Target.  A video of the suspects has been posted on the Lakeside Eucalyptus Hills Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eucalyptus-Hills-in-Lakeside-California-92040/157660207604891

Richardson, whose photos and stories have been featured in ECM, said of the threat, “I react and take it serious…This is a federal offense—making terroristic threats.”  He has offered a $200 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.