SANTA CRUZ, Calif.- "Not only a bomb threat but someone coming here and shooting employees," said Sgt. Steve Carney.
Sheriff's deputies responded quickly when they got the call from a PG&E employee at the service station in Live Oak early Thursday morning.
Investigators won't release the company's recorded phone call but said the male voice went on a rant about several things, including SmartMeters.
They said not all of it made sense.
"The motivation could be many things, could be SmartMeters could just be the person's general frustration with PG&E."
Before tracing the call, deputies focused on the imminent threat, evacuating close to 60 employees.
"Once they were evacuated, our sheriff's personnel with the help of PG&E went throught the facility looking for any suspicious packages or anything that doesn't belong," said Carney.
Deputies didn't find anything but soon traced the call to the East Cliff shopping center a few miles away.
Most of the businesses in the shopping center weren't open yet and if they were, no one saw anything suspicious but investigators say the suspect made the call from a pay phone in front of M.B. Liquors. What he didn't count on, were the store surveillance cameras.
Deputies dusted the phone for prints and are analyzing the few surveillance shots they did get of the suspect.
If they catch him, he faces terrorist threat, bomb threat, and misuse of deputy service charges.
PG&E re-opened the service center around 10am, after deputies wrapped up their search of the property.
