School threat case heading for trial
ESCANABA — An Escanaba student who denied ever talking about buying a gun for a school shooting will be tried in Delta County Probate Court, the court decided after two witnesses to the conversation testified Wednesday.
On March 14, Escanaba Public Safety investigated the report of threats allegedly made by a 16-year-old male, who was taken into police custody and lodged at Bay Pines Juvenile Detention Facility in Escanaba.
After reviewing the case, the Delta County Prosecutor’s Office charged the teen with two felony counts: threat or false report of terrorism, a 20-year felony for an adult; and threat or false report of terrorism involving a bomb or harmful device, a 10-year felony for an adult.
The subject was later equipped with a tether and released on house arrest to the custody of his parents. On March 19, the school board permanently expelled the student from the district.
During an April 2 hearing in probate court, the teen pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace, a 90-day misdemeanor for an adult, in exchange for the two felonies being dismissed. The teen told the court he was talking to the other students about target shooting cans with his dad.
Because the legal elements had not been met for the charges, Court Referee Perry Lund did not accept the plea after the teen denied he was going to bring a gun to school, denied saying he was going to do a school shooting, and denied ever saying anything about a bomb, as two students had informed police.
Lund adjourned the plea hearing and the two students were later summoned to appear in probate court for a probable cause hearing on Wednesday.
Testimonies from the the two students matched, with the exception of one who was scared and told the school liaison officer about the comments. The other student wasn’t concerned about the comments, but was approached by the officer regarding the incident.
The two witnesses each testified they were in their third period class talking with the defendant about the scheduled student walkout taking place, commemorating victims who died in a Florida school shooting one month prior.
One witness said it would be scary if a school shooting were to happen and said the teen replied he would join a shooter if there was a school shooting. Both witnesses testified the teen said he could easily get a gun and would bring it to school, and he also stated he could easily make a bomb out of gasoline.
Each witness also testified the student stated he hated everyone and that life was pointless.
“I was scared because I don’t think he was joking about it,” the one witness said about the teen stating he would do a school shooting.
The other student who was not concerned about the teen’s comments, said, “It felt… like something to say. Like people joke about school shootings all the time.”
Following the two witnesses’ testimonies, Delta County Prosecutor Philip Strom asked the court to authorize the petition charging the youth with threatening acts of terror at the high school.
The teen’s attorney, John M.A. Bergman, asked the court to dismiss the two felonies because there was a contradiction in the testimonies regarding the gun and the student never threatened to use a bomb at the school.
Based on the similar facts from the two witnesses, Lund dismissed the bomb felony, saying there was no probable cause for the charge because no threat was made to detonate a bomb.
Regarding the terrorism threat, Lund said there was probable cause the teen had threatened an act of terrorism and had communicated that threat to another person even though he may not have been able to or did not intend to carry out the act.
The legal elements had been met to authorize the prosecutor’s petition on the threat of terrorism, said Lund, later scheduling the teen for a pretrial conference hearing and a trial in probate court.
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Jenny Lancour, (906) 786-2021, ext. 143, jlancour@dailypress.net