Man Convicted Of Threatening Lost Hills Cops Denied Court Review

* Warning: graphic descriptions follow

CALABASAS, CA — The California Supreme Court refused Wednesday to review the case of a Colorado man who was convicted of threatening to kill a Los Angeles County sheriff's captain and other employees at the Lost Hills station in Calabasas.

Jason Michael Kozup was found guilty in September 2018 of 14 counts of making criminal threats, three counts of felony vandalism, and one count each of stalking and attempted extortion.

In a July 21 ruling, a three-justice panel from California's 2nd District Court of Appeal found that the evidence that the then-Sheriff's Captain Patrick Davoren and other personnel at the Lost Hills station "believed Kozup meant to carry out his threats and took them seriously was overwhelming."

The panel noted that Davoren was "frightened by Kozup's threats to decapitate him" and that he moved his family from their home to protect them.

"The station was placed on high alert. Armed deputies in tactical gear were posted on the roof of the station to watch for suspicious individuals and activities," the justices noted in their 19-page ruling. "Desk personnel were ordered to stay behind bulletproof glass."

Kozup was arrested by FBI agents in Colorado less than two hours after his last recorded threat to the sheriff's station, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Law enforcement officials testified that knives were obtained during a search of the car Kozup had been driving, along with duct tape, a saw and hatchet, and New Hampshire license plates.

The appellate court panel said that Kozup believed his civil rights had been violated when deputies from the Lost Hills station and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department responded to several calls involving Kozup in July 2014, and that he held Davoren personally responsible because he was unable to obtain a copy of the incident report to submit to his insurance company.

Kozup called the sheriff's station, demanded money, and made numerous threats to kill the captain, including one in which he said, "There's a total of seven officers that are lined up this weekend for full execution," according to Deputy District Attorney Ranna Jahanshahi.

Kozup and Davoren, who is now retired, did not know each other, according to evidence presented at the defendant's trial.

Kozup contended that the items found in his car were for everyday use, and denied being involved in slashing the tires of three vehicles that were on a property near a home that he believed belonged to the sheriff's captain, according to the appellate court panel's ruling.

Kozup, who had been behind bars since his May 2015 arrest, was sentenced in October 2018 to eight years and four months in state prison, but received custody credit for nearly seven years.

— City News Service contributed to this report.