COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Three charges have been filed against a 16-year-old Coldwater High School student after the youngster allegedly made threats of violence.
Branch County Probate Court Administrator and Referee John Howard says the boy is facing two felonies and a misdemeanor count.
The felonies are for using the internet or telecommunications for terrorism as well as for making a false report or threat of terrorism.
The misdemeanor is for malicious use telecommunications.
For now, the case is being handled by juvenile authorities. It will be up to the Branch County Prosecutor’s Office to determine if the youngster will be charged as an adult.
A hearing was held Monday. The boy will have a GPS tether on him which will allow court authorities to track his whereabouts once he is released from the Calhoun County Juvenile Detention Center to the custody of his parents.
Once that happens, Howard says the boy will be on house arrest and he is to have no contact with any of the alleged victims in the case.
Coldwater Public Safety Director Mark Bartell said in a news release on Tuesday that police got a complaint about the threats Sunday. He says some of the threats were directed towards high school staff and students.
Police conducted what was called a thorough investigation into the allegations and placed the suspect into custody without incident.
Coldwater School Superintendent Terry Boguth said in a Facebook post that they first found out about the alleged threats at 11:30 p.m. Sunday night when they got a call from Coldwater Police that they had the student in custody.
She said the youngster had been texting an ex-girlfriend Sunday and it was through these texts that he made the alleged threats.
Boguth says the student was arrested and in custody before the school was notified so there was never a danger to students and staff.
She added, “no parent contact was made as this was a brief incident that was immediately discovered and handled effectively by the CPD on the weekend and at no time were students in danger.”
