Camas teen pleads guilty to threatening classmates, gets 12 months probation

A Camas teen accused of threatening to kill his classmates just days after the fatal Parkland, Florida school shooting has been found guilty of felony harassment and sentenced to one year of probation and nine days in detention, with time served.

The 15-year-old Camas High freshman appeared before a Clark County Juvenile Court judge this morning and pleaded guilty to making the alleged threats against his classmates on Friday, Feb. 23.

“I was upset with some kids for bullying me,” the teen stated in court documents obtained by The Post-Record. “I replied with, ‘I’m going to f***ing kill all of you.’ Some of the kids were scared in light of what just happened in Florida and thought I might carry out the threat.”

The boy told the judge he “did not have the means” of following through on his threats and was “speaking in anger.”

According to a letter sent by Camas High administrators to families on Monday, Feb. 26, as soon as students reported the threats to staff, the school’s leaders called Camas police.

In their probable cause documents, police state that witnesses differed slightly on what the accused boy actually said. Some students told police he had threatened to shoot students and had held his hand up in the image of a gun to one of the students in a Camas High hallway.

When questioned by police in front of his parents, the teen admitted that he had threatened the students, who he said “tease him constantly,” but that he didn’t really mean he wanted to kill anyone.

“Witnesses indicated that the (teen’s comments) made them somewhat nervous, but they weren’t sure whether or not to take (the boy) seriously,” police stated in their report. “Witnesses believe the statement … was likely brought on because upperclassmen were teasing (him).”

Today, a Clark County Juvenile Court judge handed down the sentence on the class “C” harassment charge, credited the Camas teen for time served and released him from the juvenile detention facility where he had been held since Saturday, Feb. 24.

The boy also will be required to pay $100 and submit to a DNA sample and complete a counseling program. The court will notify future school administrators of his guilty plea and he will not be allowed to possess firearms.

Post-Record reporter Tori Benavente contributed to this report.