Federal grand jury indicts Folsom man on gun charges linked to school threats
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- A federal grand jury indicted Curt Taras on gun charges tied to school incidents.
- Taras was initially in late September arrested after Folsom High School incident.
- The federal indictment alleges he had a gun within a school zone.
A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a man accused of making threats in late September at Folsom High School before visiting an elementary in violation of a court order.
The four-count indictment, which supersedes a criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors, charges Curt Michael Taras, 53, of Folsom, with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person and possessing a firearm within a school zone, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento announced in a news release.
The indictment alleges that Taras on Sept. 24 was in possession of a gun within 1,000 feet of the Folsom High School campus, and that he unlawfully possessed several guns and ammunition in his vehicle and at his home.
Federal prosecutors said Taras is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition, because of a Sacramento Superior Court restraining order that prohibits him from harassing, stalking and threatening a spouse.
The Folsom Police Department initially arrested Taras after the high school incident on suspicion of making criminal threats and possessing a concealed firearm in a vehicle. Police dispatchers at the time relayed reports to officers of “a male that is seen on the campus talking about some kind of ‘sniper points’ at the school,” according to dispatchers’ audio recordings.
He was only charged with violating a state court order in connection with his marital separation, according to Matthew Taylor, one of Taras’ attorneys. The defense attorney said Taras had not taken a firearm to the school, but was found to have a gun locked in his car in a nearby parking lot.
In a letter to the Folsom Times newspaper in mid-October, Taras called the Sept. 24 incident a “misunderstanding.” Taras wrote the letter, following a second arrest near Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary School, that the Folsom High incident was a “trauma response” borne of a traumatic brain injury and his experience as a recovery worker after the 9/11 terror attack on the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
Taylor said Taras went to the Folsom elementary school to see his son, violating a court order issued in connection with his family situation, and not related to his visit to the high school.
Taras was released on bail in the pending state criminal case and ordered to appear later that week in Superior Court. Soon after, Taras was taken into federal custody by the FBI and initially charged in federal court with possessing a gun within 1,000 feet of a school.
At an Oct. 17 hearing in federal court in Sacramento, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Abendroth said that 11 guns were registered to Taras, including one that he did not immediately hand over to Folsom police.
If convicted in the federal case, Taras could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the gun possession in a school zone charges, and 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for possessing a gun in violation of a court order, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
A federal judge has ordered that Taras should remain in custody at least until he can be transferred to a mental health treatment facility. Taras on Thursday evening remained in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail.
