PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) — A man who once attended a Pasadena-area church is now accused of threatening the pastor and church members.
Bryan Barrera, 37, was arrested after police said he posted on Facebook that he would “take out both your pastor and everyone at the church” with “just one shot to the dome.”
Investigators said Barrera called out Pastor Lamont Melrose of Potter’s House Christian Church by name.
Barrera once attended the church, police said, but Melrose told Eyewitness News he hasn’t for at least three years.
According to reports, Facebook tipped off the FBI last week, which in turn notified the Pasadena Police Department.
Barrera was arrested on Nov. 21 and charged with a terroristic threat, but has since bonded out of jail.
A different pastor told police Barrera had begun texting him two years ago and told him that the people of Potter’s House Christian Church had their souls taken by the devil and that he was sent by God to “show no mercy” to them.
In a search warrant, investigators point to an Oct. 20 Facebook post in which Barrera poses with a gun and a bulletproof vest. Police note in the warrant that Barrera wasn’t supposed to have the gun because he’s a convicted felon.
Court records Eyewitness News reviewed, however, show no evidence that Barrera was ever convicted of a felony. His criminal history consists entirely of misdemeanors, including an assault charge from last year in which he’s accused of hitting his mother at the home they share and then pushing a responding officer.
Barrera was given eight months of deferred adjudication, but the court terminated his probation after just four months.
In response to the threats, police say several church members have been carrying guns to Sunday service.
Melrose said there are security measures in place should Barrera show up at the church, which he’s barred from doing as a condition of posting bond, according to court records.
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