A felony intimidation charge filed against a 16-year-old Columbus East student accused of communicating a threat with an intent to cause the school to be evacuated has been amended to a misdemeanor offense in juvenile court.
The change means the juvenile case is no longer open to the public, according to Indiana state law.
The teen was scheduled to be in juvenile court at 9 a.m. Wednesday for a fact-finding hearing, according to court records. The disposition of the case will now be private because of the change to a misdemeanor offense.
Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash said prosecutors decided to amend the case after an argument from the teen’s attorney contending the state could not prove that the teen meant to cause the school to be evacuated.
The 16-year-old boy, who was attending school Feb. 20, was accused of making a social media threat against East on Snapchat, suggesting the school would be “shot up” in two days.
Within minutes, Columbus East dean Michael McBride and Columbus Police school resource officer Julie Quesenbery went to the student’s classroom and removed the teen, isolating him in a private area away from the student body. He was then detained and taken to the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center, police said.
The teen was initially charged with delinquency by committing intimidation, which would be a Level 6 felony if committed by an adult, court records state. State law allows juvenile hearings involving offenses that would be a felony if committed by an adult to be open to the public.
In March, Magistrate Heather Mollo allowed the teen’s request that his supervision level be reduced from electronic monitoring to home supervision, and that he be allowed to return to his job. Initially, the teen was released from secure detention at the Bartholomew County Youth Services Center into the custody of his father and stepmother, and was placed on electronic monitoring.
Two parts of the original order have remained in effect — that the teen attend day reporting at the youth services center and that he has no contact with Columbus East, court records state.
Day reporting is offered by the court system to students who are suspended from school. Juveniles assigned to it are expected to be in a classroom with a teacher at the center from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on school days to work on classwork.
Two other juveniles have been charged in other threats against schools in February.
Mollo is considering a request from the prosecutor’s office to move the case of another 16-year-old male from juvenile to adult court. A hearing was held on that request in late March, but a ruling has not yet been issued.
That teen is accused of communicating a threat to another person Feb. 21 with the intent of interfering with the occupancy of Columbus East High School while drawing or using a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, court documents state. The teen is also accused of communicating a threat to commit a forcible felony to another person to interfere with the occupancy of Columbus East, court documents state. He is accused of two felonies in the incidents.
In the third case, a 16-year-old male student from Edinburgh is accused of felony intimidation, accused of showing a sketch of a shooting scene to some of his classmates, police said. The drawing contained sketches of a classroom, a semi-automatic pistol and bodies identified by student and teacher names, police said. He is accused of communicating a threat to another person with the intent to cause the evacuation of Simon Youth Academy at Edinburgh Premium Outlets on Feb. 21, court documents state.
