Two men have been arrested in New Jersey and California after they admitted to making online statements threatening the life of the Volusia County Sheriff.
Tyler Meyer, 30, was arrested on March 31 by the San Diego Police Department at his mother’s home in connection with threats he made about Sheriff Mike Chitwood. Meyer’s arrest comes less than three weeks after 38-year-old Richard Golden of New Jersey was arrested following similar threats.
Both men are accused of using the website 4chan, an imageboard website that hosts boards dedicated a variety of topics.
According to police, Meyer made an anonymous post on the website’s “Politically Incorrect” board stating the following:
“It’s too bad Mike Chitwood isn’t safe now that I’m planning to kill him. I’m going to shoot Mike Chitwood. I’m going to kill him by shooting him to death.”
The threat was flagged by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who traced its origin to an IP address used by Meyer.
Police made contact with Meyer, who initially was “hesitant to admit posting the threat,” according to authorities. Meyer eventually admitted that he had written the post after he was shown a picture of it.
During a search of his mother’s home, multiple firearms, ammunition, and electronics were seized. He is charged with making a written threat to kill or injure, which is a second degree felony. As of Wednesday, April 5, Meyer was being held at the San Diego Central Jail.
Earlier last month, Golden was arrested after making similar statements through the same website. Authorities were able to connect another anonymous comment made on February 22 to Golden. The comment stated the following:
“Just shoot Chitwood in the head and he stops being a problem. They have to find a new guy to be the problem…But shooting Chitwood in the head solves an immediate problem permanently. Just shoot Chitwood in the head and murder him.”
The comment was flagged and an investigation led police to Golden’s mother’s home in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, where he was living. He was arrested on March 13 and extradited to Volusia County on March 27, where he was greeted at the airport by Sheriff Chitwood.
Golden has also been charged with making a written threat to kill or cause injury. He is currently being held at the Volusia County Jail on a $100,000 bond.