Ex-Substitute Teacher Who Mailed Racist Threats To San Leandro School Avoids Prison: Report

The defendant, who used to work as a substitute teacher, also threatened to shoot up the school, according to court documents.

By Fernando Haro, Patch Staff

Aug 26, 2026 4:24 PM PDT | Updated Aug 26, 2026 4:26 PM PDT

SAN LEANDRO, CA — A 70-year-old former substitute who mailed threatening racist letters in which he called students slurs to a San Leandro elementary school has avoided prison time partly because of his age and mental health issues, according to an East Bay Times report.

Lester Lee, who is Black, mailed letters to Dayton Elementary School in San Leandro on three separate occasions in May 2023, according to federal prosecutors.

In them, he called Black students slurs, said he wanted them all dead and threatened to shoot up the school.

"My child keeps telling me that a (slur) named (redacted) and another (slur) girl in your class are still bothering her," Lee wrote in one letter. "Well I told you before you better get those (slur) out of there or I will come down and shoot all those (slur) and you too also because I really hate all (slur)."

Authorities said Lee did not have a child enrolled at the school.

In another letter, he sent an unidentified white powder to the school, authorities said.

Lee was let go from his job as a substitute teacher a month before sending the threats due to reports of conflicts between him and students, according to the Department of Justice.

One of the schools he worked at was Dayton Elementary School, authorities said.

He was charged in 2025 with mailing threatening communications, according to authorities.

Lee's attorney said the 70-year-old's "poor mental and physical health" was to blame for the crimes.

Ultimately, Lee admitted to the crimes, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Mateer pursued a 12-month house arrest sentence against the 70-year-old, citing a documented history of heart disease and mental health issues, according to the East Bay Times, which cited a sentencing memo.

But a district judge instead declined to sentence Lee and only ordered him to pay $15,000 to the San Lorenzo Unified School District, according to the East Bay Times.