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Mendocino County authorities investigate Ukiah man over Facebook post that led to college lockdown
Capt. Gregory Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said that just before 4 p.m. Thursday deputies were dispatched to a suspicious circumstance at Mendocino College in Ukiah.
When deputies arrived at the campus they contacted school administrators who wanted to report a concerning post which appeared on the Facebook page of student Lyle Luke Vincent, 31, of Ukiah, Van Patten said.
Van Patten said the Facebook posting contained the wording "feeling sad" with an image of a semi-automatic pistol – which looked like it had been obtained from the Internet – with the location tag being "Mendocino College.”
School administrators advised Vincent's class schedule showed he was not scheduled for any classes on campus on this specific day, Van Patten said.
Deputies located Vincent's maroon Dodge 2500 pickup truck parked in a parking lot stall in front of the main pedestrian path into the campus. Van Patten said the pickup truck was unlocked, with some windows partially down and the key was in the ignition.
Van Patten said deputies conducted an immediate hasty search of the campus and buildings in an attempt to located Vincent.
When this hasty search ended with negative results it was decided to lockdown and evacuate the campus to ensure the safety of college staff, students, and visitors who were actively on campus, Van Patten said.
He said a reverse 911 advisory message was issued for a half-mile radius of the college campus advising of the lockdown and evacuation.
Once the lockdown and evacuation was completed a systematic search was conducted of the campus. Van Patten said the search concluded at 8 p.m. Thursday without Vincent being located and the campus determined to be safe for repopulation.
At 8:40 p.m. Thursday Mendocino County Sheriff's Office deputies developed information that Vincent was at a residence in the 200 block of Vineyard Oaks Drive in Redwood Valley, Van Patten said.
When the deputies arrived at the location, Van Patten said they contacted Vincent and determined he was not an active threat.
Vincent subsequently was arrested on an unrelated incident for violation of a domestic violence restraining order, Van Patten said. Vincent was booked into the Mendocino County Jail where was later released after posting bail.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office thanked the Mendocino College administration, facility and security staff along with Cal Fire, California Highway Patrol, Mendocino County Office of Emergency Services and the Ukiah Police Department, which responded to the college and assisted in the search.