“It then got turned into something that it was not,” lawyer Martin Hubbell said after the hearing.
The first two calls were hang-ups, and the third falsely made claimed “someone had a gun” at the school.
MORE: Former Dayton city commissioner sentenced to prison
The incident is one a series of false threats made in recent years at schools around the area as real school shootings are committed around the U.S., including one in the Madison Schools in Butler County, where four students were injured.
Hubbell also suggested the case exposed a gap in the services provided to special needs students at after-school events in Springboro because he was unsupervised.
“All students are afforded the right to attend and participate in after school events and extracurricular activities, either school sponsored or not, at parent/guardian discretion,” Scott Marshall, communications coordinator for the Springboro schools, said in response.
The school district pointed out that parents and guardians dropped off students for the 7 p.m dance, since school ended at 2:20 p.m.
“The dance had numerous administrative staff members and teachers in attendance to oversee. Students all remained within view of staff in the commons area, and restrooms were checked periodically,” Marshall added.
No gun or weapon was found during the dance lockdown.
“Based on the school’s investigation, the calls made to 9-1-1 were all done from a cell phone inside the main commons area of the Junior High dance,” Marshall added an email response.
Alex Jones, a special prosecutor from Clermont County, left the decision up to Kirby, noting the judge well understood the facts in the case.
RELATED: 12-year-old Springboro student faces expulsion for school dance threat
Kirby suspended a 45-day detention with credit for 10 days the boy has already served from his arrest after the dance.
The case was set for sentencing in January when Jones and Hubbell negotiated a plea bargain in which the boy pleaded guilty to making false alarms in exchange for dismissal of the more serious inducing panic charge as well as a misuse of 911 charge.
As a result, the boy, who has returned to school, is expected to have his record expunged after completing probation.
About the Author
