OAKLAND, Calif. – A former substitute teacher has been charged with mailing threatening, racially charged letters to a San Leandro elementary school, allegedly threatening to shoot Black students and their teacher, federal authorities said.
The suspect, 69-year-old Lester Dale Lee of Oakland, faces one count of mailing threatening communications and one count of false information and hoaxes. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a $100,000 fine. Lee made his first court appearance on Friday.
According to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Kyle Biebesheimer, Lee allegedly sent three letters to Dayton Elementary School in May 2023. The first, sent on May 3, was addressed to a fifth-grade teacher and contained racial slurs along with a threat to kill Black students unless they were removed from the class.
A second letter, sent on May 18, was addressed to the school principal and contained an envelope filled with an unidentified powder, raising further alarm.
On May 19, the third letter was sent to the same teacher, reiterating the threats and stating that Lee wanted “them all dead,” according to court documents.
The school identified three Black students as potential targets. Concerned for their safety, school officials met with the students’ families, and at least one family chose to homeschool their child for the rest of the academic year.
Investigators discovered that Lee, who is also Black, had worked at Dayton Elementary as a substitute teacher during the 2022-2023 school year. He had prior incidents with two of the targeted students, allegedly calling one “dumb” in front of classmates and striking another with a cane. Following an investigation, his employer, an education staffing company, fired him.
The case remains ongoing, with Lee’s next court appearance scheduled for March 28.
