Racist comments, threat with fake gun lead to Clearlake arrest

Clearlake police arrested a local resident, suspected of pointing a real-looking gun at a man and his young daughter while taunting them with racist comments.|
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Making racist comments at a neighbor and threatening the man and his young daughter with what appeared to be a real gun landed a Clearlake man in jail, Clearlake police said.

The incident culminated Sunday afternoon when the suspect, Thomas Byrne, 34, continued the verbal abuse in front of the man’s 10-year-old daughter, police said in a press release.

Byrne then pointed what looked like a short-barreled shotgun at the man and the girl and used the pump action to ready the gun for firing and pretended to fire at them, police said.

The 51-year-old resident went to the police at about 3 p.m. Sunday to report the incident, telling officers the verbal harassment occurred frequently.

Officer Michael Dietrick contacted Byrne and found the man had a pump-action BB gun that looked like a real short-barreled shotgun. Byrne was arrested on suspicion of brandishing a replica gun and felony hate crime.

He was booked into the Lake County Jail and bail was set at $15,000. Byrne was released after posting a bond.

Police officials asked anyone with information about the case to contact Dietrick at (707) 994-8251.

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