A man accused of threatening to kill a state senator and having assault weapons and explosive materials in his Santa Clara home was arraigned today in court in San Jose.
Everett Fred Basham, 45, said nothing during the brief Santa Clara County Superior Court hearing, his first appearance since his arrest Tuesday on suspicion of threatening state Sen. Leland Yee, according to district attorney's office spokesman Sean Webby.
According to neighbors Basham claimed that some of the numerous antenna on his roof were used to provide Internet service he claimed he sold to residents on Montebello Road in Cupertino.
Read more about Basham in "Man Arrested on Bomb Threats had Cupertino Connections".
The 12-count complaint states that Basham made the threat while he was armed with a Barrett .416-caliber rifle and also possessed a Franchi SPAS-12 rifle and other illegal assault weapons with detachable magazines and center-fire cartridges.
Basham is also accused of having a "modified bird bomb" that was greater than .60-caliber, which is a felony, prosecutors said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives describe bird bombs as explosive pest control devices.
Basham also allegedly had other materials with the intent to make explosives, prosecutors said.
He is further alleged to have a forged driver's license he intended to use to commit a forgery and carried a loaded 9mm Sig Sauer pistol while in a vehicle in a public place, prosecutors said.
Basham allegedly emailed death threats four weeks ago to Yee. The state senator said in a statement that the email said, "If I did not cease our legislative efforts to stop gun violence that he would assassinate me in or around the Capitol."
Yee said, "He stated that he was a trained sniper and his email detailed certain weapons he possessed."
The FBI and ATF today joined officers from a host of state and local police and fire agencies to continue searching Basham's home at 3131 Humboldt Ave. in Santa Clara for explosives and bomb-making materials, said Sean Kennedy, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol's Protective Services Division.
Investigators, some from Sacramento who have been staying in the South Bay since Tuesday, hope to have the home cleared of all dangerous materials by today to ensure public safety, Kennedy said.
"There are a lot of things in the home, so every time we see a chemical or a (bomb) precursor, we have to leave" to let the FBI and ATF test it, Kennedy said.
On Thursday, bomb experts took a "handful" of bombs from Basham's home, placed them into a truck used by the San Jose Police Department's bomb squad and detonated them away from the public, Kennedy said.
The search began Tuesday about two hours after Basham's arrest by CHP officers. The agency's SWAT unit entered his home and found explosive-making materials, leading the CHP's bomb squad to detonate a charge to destroy an explosive devise in his front yard.
Basham's defense attorney, Daniel Barton, appeared with his client at the court hearing today, Webby said.
Barton could not immediately be reached for comment.
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