UPDATE: Yuba City suspect in custody

An intense manhunt for a Yuba City man whose alleged threat of a shooting massacre that would make the Virginia Tech tragedy look “mild by comparison” ended when he turned himself in Thursday night, according to the Sutter County Sheriff's Department.

Jeffery Thomas Carney, 28, who made the threat through a local Methodist minister, walked into the sheriff's department at approximately 9:30 p.m., said Undersheriff J. Paul Parker. He was accompanied by a lawyer who said in a television interview that Carney's threats weren't serious.

Sutter County Sheriff Jim Denney said at a 10:30 p.m. press conference that Carney was being booked into Sutter County Jail for making terrorist threats and committing a felony crime while out on bail. He was arrested April 4 on a domestic-violence charge.

"I asked if he was OK and he said he was," said Denney, who added that Carney's parents had alerted the department that their son would voluntarily turn himself in. "I told him I appreciated him turning himself in."

At an earlier press conference Thursday afternoon, Denney said Carney may have been under “methamphetamine psychosis.”

Friends and acquaintances alternately described him as a “sweet person,” but one who was using meth and “could carry out the threats.”

On Wednesday, Carney told the Rev. Lois Black of First United Methodist Church in Yuba City he had an AK-47 assault rifle, explosives and poison and wanted to “commit suicide by cop,” taking as many law enforcement officers with him as possible, said Denney.

Carney’s mere mention of Virginia Tech, where a Monday massacre left 32 people dead at the Virginia university campus, virtually emptied area schools, shut down Post Office customer service counters, closed some area stores and drew national media attention.

Prior to Carney's arrest, area schools had announced they would be closed Friday. Denney confimred that schools would stay closed despite the arrest. "Tomorrow will be a day of rest for everyone," he said.

A police SWAT team, Sutter County deputies and California Highway Patrol officers staked out a Yuba City apartment complex for at least four hours Thursday while a CHP helicopter circled above the neighborhood.

A neighbor told the Appeal-Democrat that Carney had been staying there with a woman and two children.

At about 3 p.m., two women exited the Queens Avenue apartment and were “debriefed” by officers. Carney was not inside, said Parker.

A red car with a black hood parked outside of the apartment could not be traced to Carney, police said.

Carney has a criminal record, including the April 4 arrest for domestic violence, but none of the crimes involved firearms. He does have prior experience - and “some infatuation” - with explosives, said Denney.

Dewayne Nelson, who identified himself as a friend of Carney’s, was in the crowd of people waiting Thursday on Queens Avenue. Nelson said Carney has an AK-47 assault rifle “and a couple of pistols.”

“He could carry out the threats. I’ve seen him pull a gun on a guy,” said Nelson. “He’s not a bad guy, it’s just the drugs. Every time he gets on drugs, the drugs take over."

Carney’s wife and mother told media that he has been “strung out” on drugs.

One person who said she knew Carney described him as a “sweet, loving, kind person.”

Mariah Huizar, 27, of Yuba City, said her sister Mona Holtzclaw, 23, is Carney’s girlfriend and is pregnant with his child.

Huizar called the Appeal-Democrat prior to Carney turning himself in because she said she feared for the safety of her sister, and for Carney. Huizar said she believed that her sister was traveling with Carney, because she had not heard from her.

“I’m in fear for their lives and their unborn child,” said Huizar.

She said Carney’s life started to unravel after his best friend died a month ago. Carney started using drugs again after that.

And she believes the threat Carney made was a bid to get attention. “I think that’s exactly what it is, and I hope everything works out for the good,” said Huizar.

According to Denney, Carney was living with his parents in Yuba City but left because of his methamphetamine use and is now a transient.

Another neighbor at the Queens Avenue complex, Heather Johnson, said Carney has stayed in the apartment “off and on for the last few months.” She said she had been in the apartment but did not see any guns.

Casey Holton, a childhood friend of Carney’s, also waited on Queens Avenue during the stakeout.

“He always hung out at our house on King Avenue. He was a nice kid and never got in trouble,” said Holton.

“But I’m not surprised by today. Once they get on drugs, you never know what they’re gonna do,” she said.

Asked if law enforcement officials were overreacting to the search, Denney said they did not want to “underreact.” The threats are viewed as credible until proven otherwise, he said.

Some local businesses locked their doors in reaction to the alleged threats. Customer service desks at postal offices in Yuba City, Marysville, Gridley and Olivehurst were closed Thursday, said Gus Ruiz, Postal Service spokesman.

“We just wanted to minimize any risk to anyone,” said Ruiz.

Friday Night Live closed its youth center in Marysville and canceled activities through Saturday, although no threats were received, according to assistant director Nancy Henderson.

“We are concerned that the individual in the community that’s making threats to our schools has not been caught,” said Henderson. “We want to protect our students. This is more for security and precautionary reasons.”

At the Yuba-Sutter Mall, several chain stores closed for the day at the direction of their corporate offices but most stores remained open, said Becca Burkhead, mall marketing director.

All store managers were alerted. A full security staff was on duty and all security systems were tested, said Burkhead.

Two police detectives visited the Jamie Drive home of Carney’s parents, Thomas and Marie, at about 7:45 a.m., according to neighbors.

Neighbors described the couple as polite and private - but also complained about acquaintances of Jeffery Carney drinking, smoking and racing cars in the neighborhood.

“Usually when we come home at night, we see it,” said Luz Murguia, 37. Police have responded at least twice in recent years, she said.

“They just keep to themselves all the time,” Terri Wigginton, 47, said of Carney’s parents. “We know they had a son and he was a problem, but not to this extent.”

By early Thursday afternoon the neighborhood looked like its normal, tranquil midday self, but the prospect of Carney still on the run was unsettling to Wigginton.

“Yeah, that does bother me,” she admitted. “My husband’s a firefighter in Sacramento and he’s been calling me every hour.”

Nobody answered the door at the Carneys’ gray-and-blue home, part of a ribbon of well-kept late-model houses on Yuba City’s north side.

Reached on his cell phone Thursday evening, Thomas Carney said only, “Hey, thanks for calling,” and hung up. Calls to the home were not returned.

Yuba City Police Department spokeswoman Shawna Pavey said media coverage of the threats “snowballed.” By Thursday evening, she had taken calls from the Associated Press, CNN, Reuters, Fox News and National Public Radio.

TV crews from as far away as San Francisco waited for hours on Queens Avenue until SWAT officers unexpectedly packed up their weapons and left.