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Wednesday, July 28, 1999

Thousands spent on bomb threats
Six student culprits get community service, probation for fake reports
By Mary Lee Grant
Caller-Times

KINGSVILLE - Kleberg County Judge Allen May believes local students will think twice before making bomb threats in the future.
   In the past two weeks, he has given six juveniles, ranging in age from 13 to 17, six months to one yearprobation for making false reports of bombs. He said he did so at the recommendation of the probation department.
   There were 21 bomb threats toward the end of the school year, May said, costing local government almost $100,000.
   The juveniles had to wear electronic monitoring devices for a month and were not allowed more than 150 feet from their homes except for special outings with their parents, May said. The students also were expelled from school until January.
   May said he tried to stress to the students the cost and consequences of what they had done.
   "I told them they cost their fellow students in their education,'' May said. "They cost the parents who had to go pick up their children and may have been docked in pay. They cost the city and the county. I told them that in effect, they were stealing from a lot of people.''
   Fire Chief Coronado Garza said the bomb threats cost the department $30,000 in overtime.
   Assistant Police Chief Arthur Rogers said the threats cost the police department $25,000, and Sheriff Tony Gonzalez said that bomb threats cost his department $40,000.
   May said that most of the juveniles' parents attended the hearings with them and appeared very concerned.
   The students also were required to pay a $15 fee for each month they are on probation, and to perform 24 hours of community service work, May said.
   "Most of (the juveniles) are sorry for what they did,'' May said. "They never thought they would get caught. Most of them never had a prior record with police and most were in the top 10 percent of their class. They generally did it on a dare from their friends.''



Staff writer Mary Lee Grant can be reached at 886-3752 or by e-mail at grantm@caller.com

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