DA: Threatening teen back on social media

CLOVIS — The teenager charged with posting mass shooting threats against local schools last month remained in her parents’ custody this week in spite of prosecutorial allegations she violated court orders to stay off social media.

District Attorney Andrea Reeb said Wednesday that officials asked the court to arrest the girl, claiming she violated court orders by posting to a Snapchat account days after she was banned from posting.

Judge Fred Van Soelen rejected Reeb’s request. He declined comment on his ruling.

“I was a little surprised (by the judge’s ruling) to say the least,” Reeb said. “I think it’s a very serious matter. She took advantage of a tragedy that we went through.”

The 16-year old girl was arrested and charged with three counts of assault with intent to commit a felony as well as other charges, police said.

Those charges pertained to posts from the juvenile’s Snapchat account Sept. 25 threatening a shooting at Clovis High School and Marshall Middle School while naming specific school staff members, police said.

One post mentioned the name “Nathaniel,” establishing a possible association with the teenager Nathaniel Jouett, who was arrested for the Aug. 28 deadly shooting at Clovis-Carver Public Library, records show.

The Snapchat threats did not materialize, but CHS attendance Sept. 25 was down about 15 percent, Reeb said.

In a district court hearing last week, the juvenile was released into the custody of her parents to remain on house arrest until her case is adjudicated. A condition of her release is that she was not to access any computer, telephone or other communication device until then, prosecutors said.

Soon after, officials from the Juvenile Probation Office saw two Snapchat posts with the teenager’s image and accompanying captions referring to her “trending” on news and social media.

JPO officials confronted her on the posts, but Judge Van Soelen rejected the ensuing application for arrest warrant from the office.

“We thought the judge was very serious in court about her staying off social media. ... I definitely believe she violated her conditions of release and I think that she needs to be held in detention,” Reeb said. “In my opinion she was very much making light of the situation or even mocking the situation, like this was kind of a joke to her.”

Reeb said her office will file a motion to review conditions of release, hoping to bring the matter back into court and possibly receive a different outcome from Van Soelen. That hearing will likely take place next week, she said.

“We just want to assure the community that we are going to seriously pursue this in court,” Reeb said.