A 73-year-old former court interpreter accused of making death threats against members of the Stanislaus County legal community and possessing an arsenal of firearms was ordered held without bail Friday after a judge said she feared he could harm “massive numbers of people” if released.
Francis Joseph Haidar of Ceres pleaded not guilty to 19 felony charges during an arraignment before Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Carrie M. Stephens. Prosecutors have charged him with 17 counts of possessing assault weapons, possession of a destructive device and attempting to make a criminal threat against a local forensic psychologist.
Stephens granted the prosecution’s request to revoke Haidar’s bail after Deputy District Attorney George Biko described alleged death threats against attorneys, judges and police officers, efforts to conceal Haidar’s identity online and the seizure of 81 firearms from his home…