Lawndale resident threatened to shoot Metro crew members, authorities say
The threat was made electronically via Metro's public complaint portal on Feb. 20 and affected roughly 100 crew members working on the C-Line extension in the South Bay, Lt. Brian Jones said. The suspect, 28-year-old Daniel Doyle Scallion, lives near the project.
After a weekslong investigation, more than two dozen sheriff's deputies served a search warrant on Scallion's home around 4 a.m. Wednesday and arrested him on suspicion of making criminal threats, officials said.
Online jail records show Scallion was booked around 6 a.m. for a felony, and held at the Lennox station jail on $50,000 bail. He does not appear to have been formally charged, and does not appear to have any prior cases in Los Angeles County Superior Court records.
Scallion, a dogwalker, according to his LinkedIn page, could not be reached for comment.
'The Sheriff's Department will continue to work in partnership with Metro or to ensure the safety of all Metro employees, ridership and the general public,' Jones said.
Jones said the anonymous threat was connected to Scallion after a warrant sought information through the internet provider. He said it didn't appear that Scallion had previously made any formal complaints regarding the project and did not have a known history of making similar criminal threats. He is due to appear in court on Friday, Jones said.
The light rail project aims to connect the South Bay from Redondo Beach to Torrance by expanding the C Line. It has received ongoing complaints from residents who have taken issue with the proximity of the project to their homes. But the threat of violence was out of the ordinary, a Metro representative told The Times.
Metro said the project had continued during the investigation. On Tuesday, security was seen on site.
The transit agency said the public was not in danger, but residents who learned of the threat last month were alarmed by the lack of information provided.
Chelsea Schreiber has resided in Lawndale for nearly 10 years and lives about 30 feet from the project. For weeks, she has wondered about the threat, concerned that residents could be implicated. She said her husband witnessed the arrest Wednesday morning at Scallion's home, not far from where they live. Scallion was known to regularly set off fireworks, Schreiber said.
She doesn't believe that violence is a solution. But said that she and others have continued to voice their fears over the project's impact on the community without any resolution.
'Metro's accountability is so lacking that residents are that frustrated,' she said.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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