2 Albion boys plead guilty to conspiracy in case with threats against school
ALBION – Two boys, age 13, pleaded guilty in Family Court on Tuesday to conspiracy in the second degree for a plan to bring weapons to the middle school to harm classmates.
One of the boys also pleaded guilty to aggravated harassment for sending a “disturbing image” to a female classmate, said Joe Cardone, the district attorney.
The two boys will be sentenced on Feb. 25 by Judge Sanford Church. There are no sentencing promises as part of the plea agreement. The judge could decide the boys need to be detained at a juvenile detention facility, or he could give them a lesser punishment.
A third boy charged in the case has an upcoming court appearance and has been cooperative, Cardone said.
Because they are juveniles their names aren’t to be publicized by the media.
Cardone said the boys remain suspended from school and are under adult supervision. They also need to continue their mental health appointments.
The three were charged on Nov. 7 after law enforcement discovered a credible plot against the school.
The students allegedly used Discord, a social media platform for gamers, to make grave physical threats to at least one other student. The threats spread to other social media platforms as the threads were shared.
Police seized various items that included legally purchased firearms, Police Chief Roland Nenni said during a Nov. 8 press conference.
There was concern last week on social media that the alleged attack from November had a target date for Friday, Jan. 3. Nenni responded on the district website and in a news release that there was no evidence last week of a planned attack for Friday.
Albion police had seven officers at the school at different times of the day, including an officer in each school building. There weren’t safety incidents.
“Once again our police force has given us wonderful support,” Michael Bonnewell, the district superintendent, said at Monday’s Board of Education meeting.
The attendance on Friday was only 50 percent throughout the district which has about 1,800 students.
