Suspected Gang Member Pleads Not Guilty To Threatening OC Church

SANTA ANA (AP) — A man has pleaded not guilty of threatening to firebomb an Orange County church.

The Orange County Register says 18-year-old Jose Alberto Neri entered pleas Tuesday to attempted arson and other crimes. He remains jailed Wednesday.

Neri was arrested on Sunday night after officers answered reports of a suspected gang member threatening to shoot someone at a Santa Ana church.

Police say Neri was in an alley next to Iglesia Cristiana Principe de Paz. He allegedly had a fake gun, a knife and a beer bottle filled with 10 bullets, lighter fluid and a cloth wick.

About 50 people were at the church.

Neri allegedly told officers he was using methamphetamines and wanted to burn the church because people there were coming into his home through his bedroom mirrors.

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