Police arrested a prominent North Sacramento resident Monday night after he allegedly threatened to burn down the home of former Sacramento City Manager Bob Thomas, according to authorities.
Bob Slobe, whose family once owned much of what has become North Sacramento, was taken into custody about 7 p.m. during a community forum about the proposed relocation of a card room to a local hotel, said police spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante.
About 100 people were in attendance at the forum, which was being moderated by Thomas, Gigante said.
Thomas serves as a consultant to a group that seeks to move the Casino Royale card room – owned in part by the son of former Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas – to the Red Lion Hotel Woodlake off Highway 160.
Thomas was moderating the discussion at the front of the room this evening when Slobe began yelling at one of the speakers to "shut up," Gigante said. Slobe then allegedly targeted Thomas.
"In a loud and threatening voice, Slobe yelled, 'I'm going to burn your house down' to Bob Thomas," Gigante said. She said Slobe repeated the threat.
Police Capt. Jim Maccoun, who commands the city's north sector and was in attendance, asked Slobe, 57, to step outside. Slobe "became angry and a bit resistant," Gigante said.
Maccoun then arrested Slobe on suspicion of making criminal threats, Gigante said. Slobe was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on a felony count and was released later that night on $25,000 bail.
The plan to relocate the Casino Royale has come under fire from some North Sacramento residents who fear the move would invite crime and traffic problems.
Slobe's family is one of Sacramento's most well-known. In 1989, they transferred 400 acres of what is now the American River Parkway to the county. Slobe has been a long-time activist in his community, most recently entering the controversy over Sacramento's homeless population. He is married to U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller.
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