Court Director: Charged School Threat Students Appear in Court

The four local students charged on Friday with making threats at their schools are making their way through the Muskingum County juvenile justice system.

Director of Court Services Bob Smith says a 15-year-old student from Zanesville High School, who is charged with inducing panic, has appeared for a detention hearing and will have a felony arraignment on March 6th, where he will enter a plea to the charge.  He is currently being held in custody in juvenile detention.

Smith says another 15-year-old student from John Glenn High School who is also facing an inducing panic charge had his detention hearing and will appear for his arraignment on March 7th.  He is also being held in custody in juvenile detention.

Smith says the third student, a 14-year-old from West Muskingum Middle School is charged with inducing panic and was arraigned Tuesday and denied the charge and has been released.  A pre-trial conference has been set in his case.

And the 16-year-old student facing the most serious charges, two counts of illegal conveyance of a deadly weapon in a school zone (knife) and aggravated menacing, had a detention hearing February 23rd and is scheduled for his arraignment on Wednesday.

At a news conference last Friday, Muskingum County Prosecutor Mike Haddox said the students claimed they didn’t mean any harm and that the threats were not real. Haddox says anyone who makes threats will be dealt with accordingly.  No schools were closed or delayed due to the threats, but it has taken a toll on students and parents.

Some parents have kept their kids home due to the threats and some students are finding it hard to feel safe at school.