Man Who Mailed Rat Poison Gets 5 Years Probation

A Claremont man who sent rat poison to Los Angeles County facilities in Chatsworth and elsewhere out of anger over a family matter was sentenced Wednesday to five years probation and ordered to undergo mental health counseling.

Martin Calvin Yarbrough Jr., 50, pleaded guilty last year to 13 misdemeanor counts of mailing injurious materials in violation of federal law.

Yarbrough acknowledged mailing small quantities of rat and roach poison to the Los Angeles County (DCFS) and the Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court over a period of about 18 months.

There were no injuries, but facilities were evacuated and hazardous materials teams from multiple agencies responded to each incident.

Yarbrough told the court he was "very deeply sorry" for his actions.

"I did not intend to hurt no one," he said. "I have done everything to stay out of trouble and I will never get in trouble again."

U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz responded: "I believe you," adding that "what could have happened could have been disastrous."

Yarbrough admitted during a previous hearing that he sent the envelopes out of increasing anger directed at DCFS over its handling of a case involving his nephew in the 1990s. Details of that case were not immediately available.

Matz followed the prosecution's recommendation and sentenced Yarbrough to a period of five years probation, including mental health treatment for the entire term and weapons restrictions.

Each letter contained either a white powdery substance or a bluish granular substance later determined to be a chemical poison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Mailed between November 2008 and May 2010, the letters were sent to DCFS offices in Covina, Lancaster, El Monte, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, Santa Fe Springs, Pomona and Monterey Park.

When employees at each of the facilities opened the envelopes and discovered the powder, the facilities were evacuated. In each case, hazardous materials teams, as well as the FBI's Weapons of Mass Destruction coordinator, responded to conduct field testing to determine if the powder represented a threat.

-- City News Service