| In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors. |
LOS ANGELES (AP) A jury acquitted a 62-year-old man of charges that he sent phony ``anthrax'' letters which caused a scare at two elementary schools.
The Superior Court jury deliberated for two days before returning the verdict Thursday in favor of Stanley Chester Jaroszenski.
Judge Michael Pastor ordered Jaroszenski to be released from custody after the jury's decision. A county jail clerk said he was released Friday.
The charges involved an envelope sent to Main Street School in March and another sent to Norwood Elementary School, said Deputy District Attorney Marcia Daniel.
When Jaroszenski was arrested, authorities said he allegedly sent threatening letters to dozens of schools, police departments, banks and corporations over a several week period.
The envelopes often contained photocopies of military weapons on the front and had ``anthrax'' and other words written in red felt marker on the back.
None of the envelopes contained any anthrax or other dangerous substances.