[Vision2020] 11-year-old Spokane Valley boy arrested for making school shooting threats on Snapchat

Thu Apr 12 17:14:31 PDT 2018

Tom,

Misdemeanors are usually charged with a citation. A formal complaint can also be filed by the prosecutor but most misdemeanors I handled were charged via citation, as are infractions.

I wasn't able to find the new statute, but here's a snippet from Betsy Russell's article when it passed:

'The bill, HB 665<https://legislature.idaho.gov/sessioninfo/2018/legislation/H0665/>, would expand Idaho’s current law regarding school threats to include threats of violence made from off-site, including by phone or social media. Threats would be misdemeanors; showing up with a deadly weapon in furtherance of the threat would be a felony.' (Emphasis added).

The Moscow defendant has been charged with a misdemeanor.

Sunil

________________________________
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com <vision2020-bounces at moscow.com> on behalf of Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2018 2:27 PM
To: Dan Carscallen
Cc: Moscow Vision 2020
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] 11-year-old Spokane Valley boy arrested for making school shooting threats on Snapchat

Can you show us that recent legislation has classified such threats as a misdemeanor.  All the sources I have browsed state that such violators are given nothing more than a citation.

Concerning your suggestion that I transplant to Washington state . . .

No thanks, DC.

I think I’ll stick around.

Now, if’n you want to join your buddy Wally Steed . . .

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
http://www.MoscowCares.com<http://www.moscowcares.com/>
Moscow Cares<http://www.moscowcares.com/>
www.moscowcares.com
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Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

On Apr 12, 2018, at 2:07 PM, Dan Carscallen <areaman at moscow.com<mailto:areaman at moscow.com>> wrote:

As previously reported by several news sources, this sort of thing (if it happened off school grounds) was not a crime at all in Idaho until after this most recent legislative session.  Now, it’s a misdemeanor, which means  the violator has to go to court.

If that’s not satisfying enough for folks, then they should contact their legislators to make changes in the law during the next legislative session.

On another note, if you think things are better in Washington, move to Washington.  It is possible, I’ve seen people do it.

DC

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com<mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com> [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Tom Hansen
Sent: Thursday, April 12, 2018 1:09 PM
To: Moscow Vision 2020
Subject: [Vision2020] 11-year-old Spokane Valley boy arrested for making school shooting threats on Snapchat

“The boy was arrested and taken to the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Facility where he was charged with Threats to Bomb or Injure Property, which is a felony [emphasis added]”

If this happened in Idaho, the boy would probably be sent to bed without dessert.

Courtesy of KHQ at:

http://www.khq.com/story/37944560/11-year-old-spokane-valley-boy-arrested-for-making-school-shooting-threats-on-snapchat

———————————————

11-year-old Spokane Valley boy arrested for making school shooting threats on Snapchat

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - Spokane Valley deputies arrested a middle school student after receiving information about a Snapchat threatening a school shooting.

Deputies say the Snapchat contained a picture of a gun, along with the threat. The 11-year-old boy told deputies it was a joke.

Deputies say the original Snapchat was sent by the boy to another student. The replayed the message for a youth group leader, who reported to an adult.

Witnesses said the message stated, "There's going to be a school shooting tomorrow. Tell your Mama. Psych." and was sent with a picture of a rifle.

A deputy contacted the 11-year-old boy who was cooperative and said it was meant as a joke.

"Two of his friends replied to the message saying it was messed up and the cops are coming," Deputy Mark Gregory said in a release. "He said he apologized to both friends and realized afterward he had made a bad decision."

The boy was arrested and taken to the Spokane County Juvenile Detention Facility where he was charged with Threats to Bomb or Injure Property, which is a felony.

"Spokane County will have a zero-tolerance policy for making threats toward shooting up a school or classmates and if you make such threats, we will arrest you,” Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said.

"We ask parents of school-aged students to talk with their children about social media and know what applications they are using," the Sheriff's Office said. "Some of these apps, such as Snapchat, make it nearly impossible to monitor activities as they delete posts/messages automatically. Other apps are designed to look harmless but enable pictures/screenshots to be hidden or locked from view without secretly entering a password. It is up to each parent how they raise their children, which includes the use of social media. Please be aware of these apps and technologies specifically designed to be secret. The entire world can be accessed from a smartphone, tablet or computer, all of which have photo and video capabilities."

———————————————

Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .

"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)

http://www.MoscowCares.com<http://www.moscowcares.com/>

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

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