14-year-old charged with terroristic threats

[tualha]

NJ. My son got disgruntled with school this year and hung up a silly picture in school with the words "Reward: Bomb detonator to the School" underneath. They called it a bomb threat, called the police who interviewed him, but he did not get charged. One week later a kid who has been tattling on everyone in school for two years tells the teacher my son is drinking ice tea in class, and my son says to him "I'm going to shoot you like the hummingbirds I shoot at home." Police again, and this time he gets charged with making terroristic threats. What now? Some people tell me I should get an attorney, some tell me I probably won't need one. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Thanks.What is the name of your state?

 

[CourtClerk]

Not only should you get your son an attorney, you should also get some psychological help. Not only will it help him, it will show the judge that you are at least trying to be proactive (or reactive at least) to his obvious issues that you've paid little mind to in the past.

 

[tualha]

Thanks for your reply. He actually started counseling a couple of months before these incidents. I found out he was seriously bullied during the previous school year, and he only told me about it almost year later. I am sure this has something to do with his problems. He says he feels worse since counseling - probably because it is bringing things up he wants to forget. He has not been charged yet - or at least I haven't gotten anything in the mail yet. Should I wait till then to get an attorney?

 

[CourtClerk]

this time he gets charged with making terroristic threats

Has he been charged or has he not been charged? What exactly happened to make you think there are either (1) actual charges or (2) pending charges. You're starting to get confusing because at first you say he was charged, now you're saying there are no charges yet.

If there are no charges yet, there is no reason to get an attorney now.

 

[tualha]

Sorry to be confusing. When the police came, they said they were going to be charging him with terroristic threats, so I guess there are pending charges and I am expecting notice in the mail.

 

[tualha]

Okay, he is now finally being charged 5-1/2 months later. According to the notice I am supposed to get an attorney for him. In speaking to an attorney about this matter, he asked me what I would like the outcome of this case to be. I said I thought the whole thing was ridiculous and should probably be dismissed. He then said I should just defend him myself if I thought the case was ridiculous. Why spend money on an attorney if I think it is ridiculous, he said. I would love to just defend him myself, but can I? I can't believe this attorney told me this, but he says he has seen many parents do it. Has anyone ever heard of this? The court tells me I have to get one.

 

[CdwJava]

Can you post the specific statute (number) he is being charged with?

In my state, terrorist threats (now renamed Criminal threats) is a VERY serious criminal offense that could result in time in state prison (or a youth prison for minors). I would highly recommend you pay for an attorney. If you try to do this yourself, you could find your boy being hauled off to a state facility for the next few years.

How is the counseling coming? Have there been any more angry outbursts at school, at home, or elsewhere?

- Carl

 

[Ohiogal]

Unless you are an attorney you cannot represent your son legally.

 

[tualha]

He is being charged with NJS 2C:12-3.

 

[HomeGuru]

NJ. My son got disgruntled with school this year and hung up a silly picture in school with the words "Reward: Bomb detonator to the School" underneath. They called it a bomb threat, called the police who interviewed him, but he did not get charged. One week later a kid who has been tattling on everyone in school for two years tells the teacher my son is drinking ice tea in class, and my son says to him "I'm going to shoot you like the hummingbirds I shoot at home." Police again, and this time he gets charged with making terroristic threats. What now? Some people tell me I should get an attorney, some tell me I probably won't need one. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Thanks.What is the name of your state?

**A: why are you listening to idiots telling you you probably won't need an attorney?
You have enough problems dealing with your son.

 

[CdwJava]

Here is the section from a NJ state site:

2C:12-3. Terroristic threats.

a.A person is guilty of a crime of the third degree if he threatens to commit any crime of violence with the purpose to terrorize another or to cause evacuation of a building, place of assembly, or facility of public transportation, or otherwise to cause serious public inconvenience, or in reckless disregard of the risk of causing such terror or inconvenience. A violation of this subsection is a crime of the second degree if it occurs during a declared period of national, State or county emergency. The actor shall be strictly liable upon proof that the crime occurred, in fact, during a declared period of national, State or county emergency. It shall not be a defense that the actor did not know that there was a declared period of emergency at the time the crime occurred.

b.A person is guilty of a crime of the third degree if he threatens to kill another with the purpose to put him in imminent fear of death under circumstances reasonably causing the victim to believe the immediacy of the threat and the likelihood that it will be carried out.​

It would appear this would involved the 'b' section.

I found this definition of third degree offenses from a NJ attorney's site (as I don't know where to find it in the NJ statutes, and I don't want to search too long):

Third Degree - 3rd degree crimes include most drug charges, theft/shoplifting charges, property damage charges, burglary charges, and most assault charges. If you are found guilty of a third/3rd degree criminal offense in New Jersey, the range of penalties is from non-custodial probation (i.e., probation without jail time), to up to 5 years in prison. You can also get probationary sentences that may include jail time up almost 1 year.​

I'd say he needs an attorney. With an attorney I'd think it likely he could get a negotiated deal that might keep him out of custody but would likely include probation and counseling.

- Carl

 

[HomeGuru]

Thank you Carl.

 

[CdwJava]

Thank you Carl.

Always here to help ... and occasionally to nag.

- Carl

 

[tualha]

Carl,

Thank you. That is what they are charging him with - which I don't really think applies to what he did. He said it in frustration with this kid who was a perpetual tattletale on every kid in the whole school, and he kind of meant "maybe we ought to shoot you" in a sarcastic way as a solution to stop this kid from bugging every one in the whole class.

Oh well, guess I'll have to get an attorney. Hopefully the judge will have common sense.

 

[CdwJava]

Carl,

Thank you. That is what they are charging him with - which I don't really think applies to what he did. He said it in frustration with this kid who was a perpetual tattletale on every kid in the whole school, and he kind of meant "maybe we ought to shoot you" in a sarcastic way as a solution to stop this kid from bugging every one in the whole class.

Oh well, guess I'll have to get an attorney. Hopefully the judge will have common sense.

The problem is not the intent of the speaker, but the belief of the receiver. Given the publicity of school shootings and violence, I am not surprised that they have pursued this. It was a very dumb thing for him to say to another student and in school. Frustration is hardly an excuse for poor behavior.

Besides, apparently what your son was doing WAS against the rules. Whether the kid who tattled should have or not is another issue. But, his tattling doesn't excuse the threat. Had he not added a qualifier about shooting hummingbirds he might have been able to get away with arguing that it was simply a flippant remark made in a moment of anger. But, by adding it he added a sense of particularity that could - and apparently DID - add to the fear level.

As long as your son's history at school and with the police does not reflect an ongoing problem, I suspect that a deal can be worked out where this does not end up as a permanent blot on his record. However, the school might still suspend or expel him if they have not done so already. Any action taken by the school would be separate from the criminal matter.

- Carl