More Charges Filed In School Bomb Threats
Two Students Face Felony Counts For Involvement
Posted: January 30, 2013
HARRISONBURG — Additional criminal charges — including a felony count of intimidation against a middle-schooler — have been filed against Rockingham County Schools students accused of making bomb threats in December and January.
The threats began on Dec. 14, the same day 26 people, including 20 young children, were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
According to Rockingham County Fire Marshal Mike Armstrong, six more charges have been filed since Jan. 15, when three initial counts were announced by Armstrong and Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson.
Since then, investigators also identified and charged a fifth student involved in threats made at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School on Dec. 14, Armstrong said. The two threats made at Hillyard that day are still under investigation, he added.
The names of students officials say are responsible for making the seven threats at three different schools are not being released because all involved are minors.
Charges filed against the students include one for felony intimidation, seven misdemeanor counts of communicating a bomb threat and one felony communicating a bomb threat.
Hutcheson said because two students involved — one at Spotswood High School and one at Hillyard — were older than 15, they were charged with felonies instead of misdemeanors.
Montevideo Middle School was the other county school to receive a threat.
In keeping with the tone set early on by school and law enforcement officials, Armstrong, Hutcheson and Superintendent Carol Fenn reiterated Tuesday how seriously the students were being dealt with.
“We’re dealing harshly with the offenders,” said Hutcheson, who emphasized that the process was a collaborative effort between his office, Rockingham Fire and Rescue and the commonwealth’s attorney’s office.
“Certainly, we want to get the word out that that [behavior] is just not acceptable,” he said. “There’s no way that’s going to be tolerated.”
Armstrong said students also will be held responsible for the time and resources they wasted by making the threats.
“Restitution for the personnel involved will be brought with each of these charges … that restitution could really add up,” he said.
In addition to the criminal charges, the four students identified in mid-January went before the Rockingham County School Board Jan. 17 and all were given a 365-day expulsion, the division’s toughest disciplinary action, Fenn said.
“Our School Board takes these infractions very seriously,” she said. “I believe it does warrant a serious consequence.”
Following the Newtown shooting, Harrisonburg City and Shenandoah County schools responded to similar incidents, which also proved to be unfounded.
Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com
The threats began on Dec. 14, the same day 26 people, including 20 young children, were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
According to Rockingham County Fire Marshal Mike Armstrong, six more charges have been filed since Jan. 15, when three initial counts were announced by Armstrong and Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson.
Since then, investigators also identified and charged a fifth student involved in threats made at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School on Dec. 14, Armstrong said. The two threats made at Hillyard that day are still under investigation, he added.
The names of students officials say are responsible for making the seven threats at three different schools are not being released because all involved are minors.
Charges filed against the students include one for felony intimidation, seven misdemeanor counts of communicating a bomb threat and one felony communicating a bomb threat.
Hutcheson said because two students involved — one at Spotswood High School and one at Hillyard — were older than 15, they were charged with felonies instead of misdemeanors.
Montevideo Middle School was the other county school to receive a threat.
In keeping with the tone set early on by school and law enforcement officials, Armstrong, Hutcheson and Superintendent Carol Fenn reiterated Tuesday how seriously the students were being dealt with.
“We’re dealing harshly with the offenders,” said Hutcheson, who emphasized that the process was a collaborative effort between his office, Rockingham Fire and Rescue and the commonwealth’s attorney’s office.
“Certainly, we want to get the word out that that [behavior] is just not acceptable,” he said. “There’s no way that’s going to be tolerated.”
Armstrong said students also will be held responsible for the time and resources they wasted by making the threats.
“Restitution for the personnel involved will be brought with each of these charges … that restitution could really add up,” he said.
In addition to the criminal charges, the four students identified in mid-January went before the Rockingham County School Board Jan. 17 and all were given a 365-day expulsion, the division’s toughest disciplinary action, Fenn said.
“Our School Board takes these infractions very seriously,” she said. “I believe it does warrant a serious consequence.”
Following the Newtown shooting, Harrisonburg City and Shenandoah County schools responded to similar incidents, which also proved to be unfounded.
Contact Emily Sharrer at 574-6286 or esharrer@dnronline.com