ESCANABA — A 14-year-old Escanaba student who threatened to bring a gun to the Escanaba Junior/Senior High School last week entered a plea during his preliminary hearing in Delta County Probate Court on Monday.

The eighth-grader made the threat to another male student while in class Tuesday afternoon. After students informed school officials about the threat, the teen was taken into police custody and lodged at Bay Pines Detention Center in Escanaba.

Following a review of the incident by the Delta County Prosecutor’s Office, the minor was charged with one count of threat or false report of terrorism. The felony is punishable by up to 20 years in prison for an adult, explained Probate Court Referee Perry Lund, who presided over Monday’s hearing in the family division of circuit court.

In exchange for the teen pleading guilty to one count of disturbing the peace, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jessica Pelto agreed to dismiss the 20-year felony. Disturbing the peace is a 90-day misdemeanor for an adult.

Under the guidance of his attorney, Jayne Mackowiak, the student told the court Monday that he was being bullied by students and never meant anything when he threatened a student that he was going to bring a gun to school the next day.

Even though the minor may not have intended or may not have been capable of carrying out the threat, he had met the legal elements for the 20-year felony when he threatened to bring a gun to school, said Lund,who accepted the teen’s plea to the lesser charge.

Following completion of a pre-dispositional report on the 14-year-old, a dispositional hearing will be scheduled for the minor to be sentenced in probate court in about two weeks, explained Lund.

The teen’s $5,000 cash bond was reduced to a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, allowing him to be released to his parents Monday while under house arrest. In addition to residing in his home, he will also be equipped with a tether.

Additional bond conditions include having no access to weapons, cell phones or social media. He must have no contact with any students in Delta County and cannot have access to weapons. He must also undergo an immediate mental evaluation.

Lund told the teen’s parents they must report any bond violations to local police. If bond conditions are violated, they must pay a $5,000 fee, he added.

According to Escanaba School Superintendent Coby Fletcher, the student was immediately removed from school last Tuesday and is currently on a 10-day suspension while the school board considers what action to take.

This incident was the second threat made by students at the school within a week. A 16-year-old male student threatened to commit a school shooting on March 14. He has since been expelled from the district, which immediately stepped up security at all school buildings following the incident.

The 16-year-old has been charged with two felony counts: threat or false report of terrorism, a 20-year felony; and threat or false report of terrorism involving a bomb or harmful device, a 10-year felony.

He was initially lodged at Bay Pines and has since been released under house arrest with a tether. He is scheduled for a hearing in probate court on Monday.

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Jenny Lancour, (906) 786-2021, ext. 143, jlancour@dailypress.net