Cops: Tolland man, preschool worker charged with threatening violence
May 6—TOLLAND — Police say they arrested a 19-year-old man identified as a paraprofessional at a local preschool on Saturday when they found several knives and a hatchet in his vehicle, and charged him with second-degree threatening.
PRESCHOOL WORKER ARRESTED
WHO: Samuel Dolcelli
CHARGE: Second-degree threatening
COURT DATE: May 18
According to an arrest warrant for the man, Samuel Dolcelli of 18 Brookmoore Road, events happened this way:
On Saturday, a woman visited the state police Troop C barracks in Tolland to report that Dolcelli, who she said had worked as a paraprofessional at a local preschool since September, had recently threatened to kill her. She said Dolcelli had a history of impulsiveness, mood swings, and making threats. The preschool is not named in the warrant.
She further told police that, in February or March, another individual informed her that Dolcelli had made a comment about "shooting up a preschool." However, she said that she contacted that person the day before speaking to state police, at which time he told her that he didn't remember if Dolcelli was joking or if he had even made the comment.
The woman said Dolcelli has a history of mental health issues and "an obsession with researching school shooters," particularly those responsible for the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado. She said Dolcelli has "extensive knowledge of how the events unfolded and the shooters themselves," and for two or three years, has taken to wearing a trench coat similar to what the shooters wore during the massacre.
The woman said Dolcelli owns a cache of weapons including 15 to 20 swords, six to eight spears, two or three air guns, and a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire.
The day that the woman spoke with police, they contacted the man who she said had informed her of Dolcelli's comment about committing violence at a preschool. He told police he did not remember the comment, but that Dolcelli would have been joking if he had made it.
Upon locating Dolcelli at a Crystal Lake Road residence, police interviewed him, at which point he denied making any such comments about a preschool, but did admit to threatening the woman who spoke with police earlier that day. Police said they found 20 knives and a hatched in a reusable shopping bag inside his vehicle.
Police arrested Dolcelli and charged him with second-degree threatening. Court records show that he was released after posting a $100,000 bond and is due to appear at Vernon Superior Court May 18. Records do not show any prior arrests.
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