California man to stand trial over shooting threats at Jewish center
A court in California, United States, ruled that there is sufficient evidence to try 43-year-old Paul Dean Andrews of Lomita, who is accused of threatening to carry out a shooting at a Jewish community center in the Los Angeles suburb of Redondo Beach.
Andrews pleaded not guilty. Following a preliminary hearing, the court ruled that he will stand trial. He is being held on $275,000 bail. If convicted on all counts, he faces more than nine years in prison, the Jerusalem Post reports, citing the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Calls to the center
According to prosecutors, Andrews repeatedly called the Jewish center over three days in August and made antisemitic statements. In one of the calls, prosecutors say, he threatened the facility's manager, stating that he knew the address on Vail Street, where many children are present, and intended to open fire on the building.
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Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that the defendant had an opportunity to confront his prejudices but did not take it.
Previous case
In 2023, Andrews was charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm and grossly negligent discharge of a firearm. A judge allowed him to enter a rehabilitation program and ordered him to complete a bias reduction program at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.
Prosecutors claim that instead of completing the program, in May 2024 he left antisemitic messages for the museum and a local synagogue. Following those incidents, the rehabilitation program was revoked, and Andrews was sentenced to 16 months in prison. His supervised release ended in June. The investigation in the current case was conducted by Redondo Beach police.
