Agoura Hills Man Who Allegedly Threatened Islamic Center To Stand Trial

AGOURA HILLS, CA – An Agoura Hills man was ordered to stand trial Monday after he was accused of making criminal threats against the Islamic Center of Southern California. At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing, a judge ruled that there was sufficient evidence for Mark Lucian Feigin, 41, to stand trial on a felony count of terrorist threats and a misdemeanor charge of annoying communications.

The ruling came three days after CNN reported finding "significant evidence suggesting that police may have charged the wrong man," based on a review of court records and interviews.

Feigin, identified by the cable news network as a real estate agent and Uber driver, admitted to police that he posted anti-Muslim opinions online, but said the posts did not amount to threats and his right to voice them was protected by the Constitution, CNN reported.

CNN said the defendant's phone records showed no calls to the mosque around the time in question but that some calls had been placed by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge's son who admitted to police that he'd called the mosque but also said he hadn't made any threats, according to the network.

The case against Feigin was filed by the state Attorney General's Office. A representative of the AG's office did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Police alleged Feigin called the mosque on Sept. 20, 2016, and threatened to kill a staff member. Officers served a search warrant at Feigin's home and found a large cache of weapons – some registered to the defendant – plus thousands of rounds of ammunition and an illegally modified clip, according to a spokesman from the Los Angeles Police Department's Counter Terrorism and Special Operations Bureau.

Feigin, who posted $75,000 bail on the day after his arrest, is due back in court for arraignment on Oct. 16.

City News Service and Patch staffer Emily Holland contributed to this post; Image via Shutterstock