Man arrested for making threats at El Dorado County preschools

10 p.m. update 9/29/15:

The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office has arrested a 23-year-old Orangevale, CA man in connection with threats made at several El Dorado County preschools and day care centers over the past few days. Many of the schools closed temporarily in response to the threats to staff and children.

Michael McDermort was booked into El Dorado County Jail for charges related to terrorizing threats. As of Tuesday night he was still in jail on a bail hold of $51,500.

Sheriff D’Agostini said he appreciated the support of the community and the cooperative efforts of the Placerville Police Department and the Folsom Police Department.

Original Story:

Several preschools have temporarily closed in El Dorado County after receiving telephone messages from a male caller who threatened staff and children.

All of the phone calls have been received on the West Slope of the county over the past several days according to Sgt. Chris Felton of the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office (EDSO). No South Lake Tahoe businesses have received the threats that they are aware of.

A business that has children on the premises, but is not a preschool, also received the threats.

EDSO has not instructed any schools to lockdown as they are not aware of any credible threat at this time but they are working diligently to identify the person or persons responsible for the messages.

Extra patrols are being conducted in the areas of the threats. If anyone has any information related to the specific threats, please contact Detective Densmore at 642-4718. Any new information will be announced when it becomes available.