From the Office of the State Fire Marshal:
A joint investigation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal, Havre de Grace Police Department and the Harford County Hazardous Materials Team have determined a 17 year old male student was responsible for disrupting school activities with the construction of a nuisance device.
Investigators responded to Havre de Grace High School at approximately 11:00 a.m. today after a suspect device was discovered being placed in a corridor of the school.
Deputy State Fire Marshals determined the device to be a bottle filled with urine and placed to act as a stink bomb by the 17 year old student.
Upon being interviewed, the student confessed to the incident and claimed that it was a last day of school prank. The incident caused the school to be placed on lock-down with the students placed inside the auditorium for their protection. No injuries were reported during the incident.
The juvenile has been remanded to the custody of the Department of Juvenile Services and transported to the Charles H. Hickey, Jr. School where he will remain until his preliminary hearing that is scheduled for tomorrow. The juvenile has been charged with Representation of Destructive Device, Disturbing School Operations, Reckless Endangerment and Disorderly Conduct. If convicted of the charges he faces a penalty of up to 15 years and 8 months imprisonment and/or $18,000 in fines.
Kanyon says
Wow. For a School Prank thats a little rough.
segram99 says
I bet his parents were “pissed off”.
Susan says
It is insane to think that he is at Hickey. While he needs punished, this is just overkill for something that was never intended to be nothing but a minor prank. He didn’t do himself any favors in how he handled things, but I hope someone sees it for what it was…not ruin his life.
Original Observer says
Slow down, Susan; it only says he’s being held at Hickey until his preliminary hearing, which is scheduled for Wednesday. It doesn’t say he’s been sentenced to Hickey; it’s way too early for that: He hasn’t even been tried yet.
John Wayne says
First, you have no idea what his background is. Maybe this was just the icing on the cake and he was on probation thus he’s at Hickey because of violation.
Second, this was handled by Havre de Grace PD and NOT the Sheriff’s Office so your comments about the Sheriff are unrelated.
Think before you post.
Susan says
Actually, I do know the kid and his family. And yes, I do think it is insane to hold him overnight. Send him home and fine him for all the effort that was put forth. It was NEVER intended to be a bomb nor was it to act/pretend to be one.
And when did I say ANYTHING about the Sheriff?
How about YOU think/pay attention before YOU post?
Wondering says
What was the consequence to those girls who called in bomb threats to several schools two school years ago? Did they end up in lock-up temporarily?
local says
Hickey might help straighten him out!
MacG says
Seems like an over reaction to me, meanwhile on other pages of the Dagger people are being held up at gun point, being killed and eaten, being stabbed, shot, maimed, open air drug markets on street corners in Edgewood … just seems like an overreaction to me. Maybe we can take of this with the next election for Sheriff. I am not impressed with the sheriffing abilities of the current office holder.
NeverCease2BeAmazed says
How exactly is this a reflection on the sheriff? Because the HazMat team investigated? That is really reaching for a reason to fault a man whose organization was not involved in this investigation. I am definitely not looking forward to the next 2 years of this campaign, where every crime will be blamed on the Sheriff’s Office and not the criminals.
Kharn says
So how would you propose responding to a call of “an unknown chemical in a school left by an unknown person with unknown intent”? HazMat is the appropriate response, you can’t expect a deputy to stick his finger in it, give it a sniff, etc, and declare that it’s pee so everyone can get back to work.
Beemerman says
I don’t think most of the sherriff’s deputies in this county are qualified to do that…
George says
While I agree with you about this probably being an over reaction holding him in Hickey until his prelim hearing, it has nothing to do with the HCSO, any deputies, or Bane.
The HazMat team responded (which was an appropriate response since it was an unknown liquid in a suspicious container in a school) and they are not part of the HCSO. The State Fire Marshall’s Office investigated (MSP), and HdGPD were likely the initial responders to the incident since it’s in town limits and their jurisdiction. In any case, it’s ultimately Juvenile Services who makes the decision on whether someone goes home or goes to Hickey.
I gave up a long time ago trying to figure out why they take some kids and not others. I’ve seen a couple cases where a teenager assaulted his parents, caused injuries, was arrested for the domestic assault, and then juvenile services refused to take him so we had to call the parents who were just assaulted 2 hours earlier to come pick up their kid from the precinct. If he was an adult he would automatically go to the DC for that.
Otto Schmidlap says
This student is being temporarily relieved of his freedom.
this is serious says
this is very serious, and needs to be addressed. The student needs to pay back the community for all the resources that were used to investagate.
Amazed says
What a moron. He deserves to pay a fine and community service for stupidity. Wee in a bottle is what passes for a prank these days? With all the Internet to research this is the best he could come up with? Then get caught? On a side note, does any one know where I can get a “My kid’s an Honor Student at Charles Hickey” bumper sticker?
clarified butter says
Seriously, a HazMat team was called in for a unknown liquid in a bottle? Overkill is not the word for it, totally an act of disgrace by the authorities who charged him for this. Harford County Law Enforcement wake up and come back to reality. Every little incident that occurs in daily life is not a crime against humanity and the state. I fail to see the representation of a destructive device and I certainly cannot see the Reckless Endangerment charge. Reckless Endangerment of who, a few noses, I don’t know. Anyway, this is pointless and is a perfect example of Law Enforcement not using their common sense in the investigation or the charges they have claimed. This is a total abuse of power and is news worthy as it shows that our way of life is totally muttled by a group of idiots otherwise known as the law enforcement officers that patrol our streets. Anyway, this young man’s rights are being violated by being falsely charged………knowingly by incompetent Law Enforcement.
della says
It’s because of the bottle bombs that have been a problem. I’m sure it looked the same. The same parents would be screaming if their child was blinded/injured by one of these. Kids need to realize the implications. I’m guessing if he’s clean they will reduce the charges. I’ve used this to reinforce my own that you need to think and not do crap like this.
clarified butter says
By that way of thought, any container with a liquid in it could be considered a destructive device. Inside my son’s lunchbox is a container that contains juice for him to drink at lunchtime, by no means is this a bomb, but using your train of thought it is. I can not see a container of urine being a bomb of any kind other than for its odor. Which by definition is not a destructive device, period, the charge of it being a Representation of a Destructive Device is totally absurd and is an abuse upon this young man’s rights.
George says
It’s all in the context. A bottle of juice in a lunch box is not unusual or suspicious. A bottle of an unknown liquid (which could be any number of dangerous chemicals which may be putting off deadly gases, or CDS such as shake-n-bake meth, PCP, etc) in a school hallway is something completely different.
It’s not like the bottle was discovered, they said “Oh, it’s so-and-so’s urine, let’s make a major case out of this.” The bottle was discovered, the school placed on lock down, and the appropriate resources called out to deal with it. I highly doubt they knew who put it there prior to the State Fire Marshall’s Office conducting an investigation. As far as just taking a whiff, you gotta be an idiot to just pick up a bottle like that and start sniffing. In this case it probably just smelled like urine, but if it had been some sort of chemical you could end up in the hospital with some serious respiratory problems.
clarified butter says
I’m sure you could agree that an unlabled bottle of apple juice could be construed as a bottle of urine, right. My point exactly, a bottle with an unknown liquid is not a Representation of a Destructive Device, merely a bottle with an unknown liquid in it. Had the said bottle had a piece of cloth hanging out the top of it, then it could be construed as a Destructive Device. In my day, a teacher would have picked it up and sniffed it and it would be over with. I’d be more concerned with, maybe, where did you fill it? Was it during class? In the Bathroom? Indecent Exposure could be considered criminal, but abandoning a bottle of pee in a hall is no more a representation of a destructive device than a kid peeing on the toilet seat……
George says
I happen to agree with you about the charges looking a bit high, but I’m not familiar with the particulars of this case and I doubt you are either.
This isn’t “back in your day.” This is today where a quick google search will get all sorts of recipes for all sorts of nasty little concoctions that any teenager could easily mix up in a couple of minutes and some of them are stupid enough to do it. Some of those mixtures can actually do permanent damage to your lungs/eyes/throat with only a few seconds exposure…if it’s the right stuff it can even kill (though most of the mixtures I’m aware that do you’ll see an active reaction taking place.) Is it likely it’s something like that? No, but do you want to risk it.
clarified butter says
You have a good point about the Google search finding everything on it from explosives to drug manufacture, isn’t freedom a wonderful thing. Yet, I still can’t see leaving a bottle of urine being a jailable offense of up to 15 years of incarceration and nothing will change my mind on that. I feel the charges are malicious and it disturbs me that society has progressed into a total state of fear that such charges can be laid upon such an act………
David A. Porter says
So if I took the labels off a bottle of ketchup and left it in a corridor somewhere, it could be construed as a biological weapon because it might be AIDS tainted Human Blood? Exactly how far does the imagination have to travel to create fear that can be turned into a threat to the public as a weapon of mass destruction? Let me go get my corn starch and put it in a sandwich or snack bag. I didn’t think you could prosecute thought crimes but I guess you can if you think somebody else planned it as a crime.
none says
Why do you say he was falsely charged?
jim jam tim tam says
Clearly, the child admitted that he dropped some tinkle in a bottle and set it in the hallway but what if he was legit and misplaced a container of juice?
IMO, we’re breeding a generation of nervous nancies, raised by paranoid patties.
Beemerman says
Well, the grownups around him certainly taught this kid a lesson, didn’t they? Yeah, yeah, that’s the ticket, call out the HazMat Team for a bottle of urine…and then haul his butt to Hickey, where he will be introduced to real, honest-to-Pete predatory thugs who do real, honest-to-Pete things to harm people. I hope he survives his night there.
This whole thing makes me wonder who are the adults and who are the children in this scenario.
And by the way, those who thought this was handled by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office can be forgiven for their error. When I first read the story, I too figured this was another case of Bane’s amateurish clowns over-reacting, as it has all the hallmarks of how they would handle such a case.
The longer I live in this county, the less confidence I have in its public safety institutions. I wonder: Did the HazMat Team swing by Sonic on the way home and demand a discount?
General Custard says
Well if you hate the public safety here so badly, leave.
David A. Porter says
I like how when someone raises an issue about the quality of life here someone always suggests that they leave if they don’t like it. I maen after all, just because people complain about it, there really is no reason to improve on the problem is there?
Beemerman says
You need to get with the times: that whole “love it or leave it” challenge went out after the Vietnam War. I pay taxes in this county — a considerable amount of taxes — and if I choose to comment on something I will do so, and no, just because we have inadequate public safety institutions here, that doesn’t mean I have to leave.
Lisa says
“… an abuse upon this young man’s rights.” Wow! I am going to laugh every time that statement comes to mind today.
“… disturbs me that society has progressed into a total state of fear that such charges can be laid upon such an act………” You should be disturbed – you reap what you sow – and with all the liberal attitudes running amok these days, is it any wonder kids (and too many adults) think they can do whatever the heck they feel like doing and not be held accountable (because in some convoluted thinking, they had THE RIGHT to do it).
As I’m sure you’re also aware, most people accused of a crime are charged with as much as is legally possible (provable)so that when all the whittling down is done in court, they still might actually have to pay for their acts instead of all charges being dropped. Your outrage is a little over done.
clarified butter says
Wow, Lisa, are you serious? I refuse to respond, my point and my opinion are already stated………
weisengard says
Why would you consider this charge “as much as legally possible” when its pretty darn clear there was no destructive device or even a representation of one?
blacula says
Nobody said the boy had the right to leave piss in the hall, everyone is just raging about how the POPO has charged the boy like he is a terrorist or something. I bet the boy was black, thats what Harford County likes to do, screw the black man…….
NMWIA says
Here’s a scenrio . . .
A person enters a school carrying a duffel bag and wearing a disguise (mask) and somewhat para-military attire. The person opens the bag and removes a device (far larger and more elaborate than a “juice bottle”) and quickly sets it up. A pipe-like container is clearly visible and is now apparently deliberately leaking fluid onto another part of the device. The person’s mask falls off and he flees the school. The school is filled with students in clssrooms taking their final exams.
If one of the students was your son or daughter, how would you have the authorities respond? What special teams and expertise would you want evaluating the threat?
Oh Yeah, it’s just a “juice bottle”. Maybe just get some paper towels . . . . and give the intruder a cookie . . .
clarified butter says
I fail to see your comparison as accurate. We are talking about a bottle of unknown liquid which has now gravitated to an obvious device of destruction. I don’t know what you’re talking about and quite frankly I don’t think you have a clue of what you’re talking about either………..
David A. Porter says
Thank you for extrapolating this out of proportion and creating more fear and emotion than the current case warrants, Based on my personal observation could I describe you as emotionally unstable and given to flights of fantasy and self delusion? Could I go to court and have you picked up for an emergency evaluation? I am now afraid of you and what you MIGHT do. I think society would be better off if you were under observation.
Beemerman says
The scenario you describe is not what happened in this case.
Piss Bottle Man says
Best you not look in the cab of a trucker.
local says
Some of you think it is crazy that the police were called? Well, next time a suspicious container is left, you can be the one to pick it up and take care of determining its contents. Some of you just don’t think before you write!
JIM JAM TIM TAM says
The kid admitted to pissing in a bottle. Not like he confessed to any plots of mass destruction.
What if he or someone else decided they wanted to lay turds on the bathroom floor or smear it on a mirror? Yes, that child might need some psychological examination, but is he a domestic terrorist dropping off biohazard dirty bomb black-market smart nukes? No.