Two local students and one Scranton Department of Public Works employee were arrested this week on charges that each of them made separate bomb threats - charges that will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola said Friday.
"We're going to look at it as a case-by-case basis to see how we're going to treat each defendant, and obviously if warranted, we're going to treat them harshly," he said. "We're not going to take this as a joke, as some students are doing."
A 13-year-old South Scranton Intermediate student was charged Friday with making terroristic threats after police say he made a bomb threat at the school Wednesday.
A note was found that the school would be "blowing up," and the school was evacuated. On Friday, the school resource officer received a tip implicating a 13-year-old boy. The boy's handwriting was compared with the note, and after additional investigation, he was charged in juvenile court.
The boy is not identified because he is charged as a juvenile.
After many bomb threats in the region this month, Scranton police will use "all available resources" to pursue individuals involved, police said.
A 12-year-old student is also facing charges for leaving a bomb threat in a Riverside East Elementary School bathroom earlier this week.
As of Friday, both students are being charged as juveniles, but Mr. Jarbola said if either case meets specific criteria, there is the potential for the children to be tried as adults - something that could end up on their record, affecting them for the foreseeable part of their futures.
In any case, he said those charged could pay for the cost of prosecution.
"We're going to aggressively prosecute them because we don't think it's a joke. It's not funny," Mr. Jarbola said.
He said school districts, law enforcement and city authorities were following the correct protocol in responding to such situations, and no threat can be ignored.
"The authorities and the school districts, they can't take that chance," Mr. Jarbola said.
In addition to the two students, Scranton DPW worker Mark Jakes, 47, is facing charges of recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct after he called in a threat to DPW dispatch on March 8, according to police.
Mr. Jakes, who minutes earlier discussed a threat that had been made at West Scranton High School with co-workers, called dispatch at 1:06 p.m. and said a bomb in the building was set to go off at 1:15 p.m.
DPW Director Mark Dougher was notified, and within two minutes, Mr. Jakes identified himself to Mr. Dougher and other co-workers as the one who made the threat. Mr. Jakes said he made the call as a "joke," according to police.
City officials, including Human Resources Director Gina McAndrew, refused to comment on Mr. Jakes' employment status.
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