Crime & Safety
Accused San Rafael ‘Door Knock’ Vigilante Pleads Not Guilty: IJ
John Edward Mahoney is accused of threatening to kill a 14-year-old prankster, according to the report.
SAN RAFAEL, CA — A San Rafael man charged in connection with threatening to kill a teen prankster last month pleaded not guilty Monday before a Superior Court judge, The Marin Independent Journal reports.
John Edward Mahoney was charged with false imprisonment by violence and inflicting "unjustifiable" pain and suffering on a child, among other crimes in connection with the Oct. 2 incident.
The 52-year-old is accused of threatening to kill a 14-year-old boy who was among several youths who banged on the door of his Terra Linda home in the area Wakerobin Lane and Wisteria Way that night, the report said.
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Mahoney, who is free on bail, appeared in court virtually, the report said. His next scheduled court date is Dec. 6.
Mahoney’s attorney, Charles Dresow, argued that police mischaracterized the incident, according to the report.
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Dresow said his client was uneasy at the time of the incident, which occurred amid neighborhood concerns about a suspected drug house near Mahoney’s home that left him feeling unsettled, according to the report.
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