Teen who threatened shooting to get supervised probation

CLOVIS — The teenager charged last month with threatening a school shooting over social media will enter a period of supervised probation with mandated community service and a public apology, according to a plea agreement submitted last week.

Clovis Police arrested the 16-year-old in connection with two Sept. 25 Snapchat postings that threatened a mass shooting at the high school. The posts also named specific school employees and appeared to reference Nathaniel Jouett, the teenager charged for the Aug. 28 public library shooting that killed two and injured four, police said.

The juvenile was charged with multiple delinquent acts, of which she pleaded no contest Oct. 27 to two: assault upon a school employee (threat or menacing conduct) and interference with public officials or general public.

Conditions of the plea agreement stipulate the juvenile enter a two-year period of supervised probation, during which she must “abstain from all social media and shall close any of her social media accounts,” according to documents provided to The Eastern New Mexico News.

The agreement would also require community service: 50 hours if she is working and 100 if she is unemployed, though District Attorney Andrea Reeb said Friday that the girl currently has a part-time job.

The court recommends that her service be performed at Clovis schools, and also requires that she “issue an apology to the Clovis Schools which shall be video recorded and posted by the Juvenile Probation Officer as a public service announcement.”

Reeb said there was some discussion as to how realistic it was to require a teenager to completely abstain from social media, but noted the juvenile would still be permitted to use a phone for calls and texts. Additionally, she said the JPO has discretion to change that mandate if the officer “decide(s) that she was responsible and mature enough to be on social media.”

A year of compliance with the terms of probation could qualify the juvenile for early discharge, says the agreement. However, a violation of those terms could result in two years of jail time, Reeb said.

After her arrest, the juvenile was released from an Oct. 5 hearing into the custody of her mother but ordered back into the county’s Juvenile Detention Center after the court found her in violation of her terms of release for making a subsequent, albeit innocuous, post from her brother’s Snapchat account.

“I think the week in detention really opened her eyes as far as what can happen. She seemed like she was ready to try probation,” Reeb said. “I thought the resolution was a fair resolution. We spoke with school officials that were victims in this case and they understood that agreement.”

Attendance at CHS was down about 15 percent the day the Snapchat threats aired, Reeb said last month.

The juvenile is now out of custody and has effectively started her probation, she added, noting Judge Fred Van Soelen would likely sign the plea document and file it next week.

Defense attorney Benjamin Herrmann did not respond to requests for comment Thursday and Friday.