Student arrested for story...

[He-Man]

http://www.lex18.com/Global/story.asp?S=2989614

A George Rogers Clark High School junior arrested Tuesday for making terrorist threats told LEX 18 News Thursday that the "writings" that got him arrested are being taken out of context.

Winchester police say William Poole, 18, was taken into custody Tuesday morning. Investigators say they discovered materials at Poole's home that outline possible acts of violence aimed at students, teachers, and police.

Poole told LEX 18 that the whole incident is a big misunderstanding. He claims that what his grandparents found in his journal and turned into police was a short story he wrote for English class.

"My story is based on fiction," said Poole, who faces a second-degree felony terrorist threatening charge. "It's a fake story. I made it up. I've been working on one of my short stories, (and) the short story they found was about zombies. Yes, it did say a high school. It was about a high school over ran by zombies."

Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it's a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill.

Poole disputes that he was threatening anyone.

"It didn't mention nobody who lives in Clark County, didn't mention (George Rogers Clark High School), didn't mention no principal or cops, nothing,"
said Poole. "Half the people at high school know me. They know I'm not that stupid, that crazy."

On Thursday, a judge raised Poole's bond from one to five thousand dollars after prosecutors requested it, citing the seriousness of the charge.

Poole is being held at the Clark County Detention Center.


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How dare he be creative and write a story that was fictional and didn't even mention any real school or person, instead of getting drunk, partying or causing trouble!
🙄

 

[toyou444]

How dare he be creative and write a story that was fictional and didn't even mention any real school or person, instead of getting drunk, partying or causing trouble!
🙄

Yea! If he had just done that he could be president of the United States!

😉

Welcome to the new world kids...be careful what you think.

~ toyou

 

[TklDuo-Ann]

With all of the school violence that's taken place the past few years, I can understand some concern and attention being shown. They certainly should have questioned him about it to be sure there was no threat intended. But, the action taken went entirely too far in this case.

Ann

 

[toyou444]

Which is realy part of my point Ann. Unless there are other circumstances about this kid to think he would make a terroristic threat then to arresst him and then RAISE HIS BAIL is simply crazy.

Since our government can't really protect us from the real bad guys they have to go after EVERYBODY who has an idea that might be even remotely dangerous. You from another country and have dark skin? Better throw you into detention until we're positive you didn't have a bad thought about the US ever in your life!

Geeze it get under my skin. Ya know who blew up the Oklahoma Federal Building? A white guy. An AMURICAN (as Gallagher would say) white guy. Why aren't we arresting all of the white guys with crew cuts to make sure they aren't planning anything!

I only half-joking when I say I fear to even post THIS! Who know what government agency is googling every minute looking for dissenters!

And don't anyone give me the crap that at least I CAN dissent. I can't. At least not within ear shot of anyone who could make a difference. I would be put in a "free speech zone" block (or miles) away. That's where we are right now kids..."free speech zones"! I thought those were pretty much anywhere.

Sorry for the rant.

~ toyou

 

[He-Man]

Even so, police say the nature of the story makes it a felony. "Anytime you make any threat or possess matter involving a school or function it's a felony in the state of Kentucky," said Winchester Police detective Steven Caudill.

Man, I hope no kids in Kentucky are into Power Rangers. With all the times the school functions have been attacked by aliens on that show, the kids might be accused of supporting terrorists.

 

[Shem the Penman]

For me, the most disturbing part of the story is that the kid was turned in by -his own grandparents-. What sort of people are they, that they go straight to the cops with the journal instead of, say, trying to talk to him and/or his parents about it first?

 

[Oddjob0226]

Did they determine yet if the kid was going to create the zombies and have them take over the school - similar to the Bela Lugosi/Race of Atomic Supermen situation documented in the film "Bride of the Monster" - or do they think he just knew about the zombie attack but wasn't going to tell anyone?

 

[drew70]

I'm not so ready to buy into this "fictional short story" line. The author of this article is making it sound like what the kid wrote should have been seen as obvious fiction by the authorities. It's deliberately written from a slant that assumes innocence on the part of the boy. But I have to wonder. For one thing, a journal isn't where one would normally keep fiction. A journal is usually more like a diary where you log your personal experiences as well as your true feelings. Until I know more details about what exactly was written and where it was discovered, I will reserve judgment.

 

[asutickler]

I've gotta agree with Drew here, at least partially. ANYONE caught planning some sort of violent act will (if they have the brains) come up with some line of BS to explain their actions. The above story is hardly impartial, and was probably written by your stereotypical "reporter with a grudge against authority" type. I too will wait to hear both sides of this event before passing judgment.

 

[giggleygirl25]

i know in my younger years in my journal (it wasn't a diary with little hearts and flowers and i love johnny on it...just making that clear)...i would write private thoughts yes, BUT i also wrote poetry(bad poetry) and some short stories...so it's not implausible that this kid did that...i'd have to wonder what type of grandparent turns a kid in for something he wrote in a journal...is the journal the only "proof" the authorities have or did the KID have a cache of weapons? anything besides a fictional story?? yes i realize in this day and age, we have to monitor everything even before we think it...but where do we stop??

 

[Oddjob0226]

It involved zombies! Zombies! Unless y'all's city health code guidelines reguarding interments of the recently deceased is vastly different from mine, I'm pretty sure there was fiction involved somewhere within the writings.

Dang, the things these people would find written in my pile of private unedited stash would get me a life sentence on Jupiter.

 

[WorkInProgress]

I say, we don't have enough facts. For instance, I would love to see some excerpts from that journal. I mean, it's one thing if it has lines like "Tommy looked up. Coming at him was a great big zombie. 'I'm gonna blow up this school,' said the zombie." It's another thing if it simply says "I'm gonna blow up this school." Whatever he wrote, the people who have read it apparently felt threatened by it. Don't get me wrong, I'm open to the strong possibility that he's telling the truth. I'm only saying, I would need to see what was in that notebook to have a clue. Absent that, I don't have a clue. I don't know whether his grandparents are a pair of nuts who overreacted or a pair of heroes who prevented the next Columbine.

I'm not sure I agree that the article is slanted. I certainly don't think it's anti-authority. The one thing missing is, the writer should have asked a law-enforcement official point-blank, "From what you've seen of this journal, does it look at least possible that he only intended to write a story?"

 

[Knox The Hatter]

I say, we don't have enough facts. For instance, I would love to see some excerpts from that journal. I mean, it's one thing if it has lines like "Tommy looked up. Coming at him was a great big zombie. 'I'm gonna blow up this school,' said the zombie." It's another thing if it simply says "I'm gonna blow up this school." Whatever he wrote, the people who have read it apparently felt threatened by it. Don't get me wrong, I'm open to the strong possibility that he's telling the truth. I'm only saying, I would need to see what was in that notebook to have a clue. Absent that, I don't have a clue. I don't know whether his grandparents are a pair of nuts who overreacted or a pair of heroes who prevented the next Columbine.

I'm not sure I agree that the article is slanted. I certainly don't think it's anti-authority. The one thing missing is, the writer should have asked a law-enforcement official point-blank, "From what you've seen of this journal, does it look at least possible that he only intended to write a story?"

Wisdom indeed. None of us know this kid, none of us know his grandparents, and none of us know the rest of the story that the press would conveniently (and possibly deliberately) leave out. So very often, we make judgements on what we're spoonfed by the Media, without applying any insight. How would we ever progress as a nation if we continue to do that?

Thinking about it, that's a rhetorical question. If anything, life in this country has proven to me that Darwin was one hundred percent right, with an addendum: we not only descended from the apes, but in fact, intellectually, most Americans still are apes.

 

[some1somewhere]

I seem to remember that a number of years ago (I think 98) there was a school shooting in Paduca (spelling anyone?) Kentucky. It is in the western area of the state.

I would wonder what would reaction be if the police were given a copy of the story, did nothing thinking it was just fiction, and a bomb went off in that school. Heads would roll and the department would be sued for millions of dollars. What would have happenned if the grandparents would not have turned in the story and he did something? A police investation would find the journal, and there could be criminal proceedings against the grandparents, or they would be sued by the victims for everything they had.

This kind of paranoia is not new, I almost got expelled for writing a discription for an invention of a remote control that made teachers disappear and this was 91 or so, when I was in the middle school. And now that I look back, I can understand why I got in trouble.

It seems that the story was realistic enough (or the kid had some history) for the grandparents to turn their own grandchild to the police. That must have been heartwrenching for them, but the story scared them that bad. The article said that it OUTLINED possible things to do to students, teacher, and police. I must put my trust in the adults in this situation.

School is were children go to learn. Among those subjects is history. We have learned from history that volience is rarely random coming from children. It festers and comes out in their school work.

Sometimes we have to look a little extreme to keep extreme things from happenning to our children. With that said, a things need to metted out according to the past history of this child. I wonder what that history is?

 

[WorkInProgress]

I'm curious, Some1somewhere. Was the piece that you wrote such that anybody with common sense could clearly see that it was the fictional work of a kid with a wild imagination who'd seen too many cartoons, or did it really have an ominous tone to it?

 

[some1somewhere]

I'm curious, Some1somewhere. Was the piece that you wrote such that anybody with common sense could clearly see that it was the fictional work of a kid with a wild imagination who'd seen too many cartoons, or did it really have an ominous tone to it?

You know, I really can't remember. I do know that there were no ominous intentions on my part, although I can see were it would look like it. I seem to remember the last lines where like about me flipping off the teacher and remote control made her disappear. At the time I didn't understand what the fuss was about, I mean I had "first amendment rights," but now that I look at it I'm thinking what kind of idiot was I? If I remember correctly (and this is the first time I've tried to remember this in years), I had some frustration with the teacher, because I wrote on my notebook that my "middle school sucks" and I left it in her room, when I got it back the next day, that phrase had been marked out. I do remember being annoyed about my "free speech being denied." I don't remember how long it was before that, when the incident turned up. Anyway I meant it to be funny, it wasn't and I shouldn't have wrote it. I wasn't brought up before the board of education, but I do remember that the principle did call my house and have a long talk with my father about the "seriousness" of it. The teacher took it as threatening or thought it had the possiblity of it. I think the main reason that nothing happenned to me was that I had never done anything wrong before. That is one of the things that I wonder about this kid, we really don't know how he acts at school, what his past history is problem wise, or what is the past history of the kids he hangs out with (this does matter.)

To answer your question WorkInProgress, I doubt it looked like something written with a wild imagination, and with as much trouble as this kid is getting into, I doubt his passes that test either... but I could be wrong.

 

[Iggy pop]

A story, in and of itself, should never warrant an arrest. If that were the case, half the writers on the TMF need to be arrested.

I agree we do not know all the facts here. This kid may have purchased guns and explosive and told others of planning to shoot up the school. Then again maybe the authorities overreacted. Just going by this story, that is what it looks like, but like some of you have pointed out we do not have the complete story.

 

[Oddjob0226]

Kids are very often idiots. Grown-ups think they know it all. The circle of life.

 

[DutchTickler]

Only in America...

 

[The Sean Man]

Only in America...

Yep, and it's only going to get worse

The Sean Man

 

[Lazarus]

This country....

Is on a fast track to Hell.

Like I told Meems-

Give it between 5-10 years, and this entire country will be a Christian Police-state, with anything even hinting at anything "bad" will be banned, and people will burn GTA 5, Steven King and Peter Saul books in the streets, and Benny Hinn will be Sec. Of Treasury.


It's coming, and when the day does, I am taking off for Canada or Scotland, and taking my family with me.

I'll be DAMNED if a person or people tell me what to and not to read, to watch, and how to raise MY kids!

Fuck that!

I've been doing a Hell of a job for the last 10 years, with my kids having played Resident Evil 2 since they were 2 and 3 years old, and they have no desire to shoot up a school, or carry guns!

They all play GTA 5-

Ages 10, 9, 8, and 5.....

And they have NEVER shown violent tenancies towards ANYONE!

More loving kids have never existed!

This country is just getting worse and worse, and I am honestly ashamed to live in it.

 

[Oddjob0226]

Re: This country....

Give it between 5-10 years, and this entire country will be a Christian Police-state, with anything even hinting at anything "bad" will be banned, and people will burn GTA 5, Steven King and Peter Saul books in the streets, and Benny Hinn will be Sec. Of Treasury.

That's only in the areas of the well-regulated militia. Elsewhere, there will be small fifedomes of G-Love, Homie G, and Supa G. Ho' thug gangs holding fireside shake-dat-azz chats and remarking how the 2 Fast2 Furious infrastructure of our highway system is crumbling faster than Jenna Jameson's career since the new porn queen flavor-of-the-month came into town, bong in one hand and loaded dice in the other.

In in still other, less travelled places - zombies.

 

[DutchTickler]

The 'Land of the Free', right?

😛

 

[Oddjob0226]

I've read up a little more about this case. Originally, the kid was picked up because it was thought by his writings that he was trying to create an armed gang to take over the school. Upon further investigation, the armed gang was apparently meant to fight the ZOMBIES in the story, the zombie attack taking place at high school - and they do say "write about what you know" after all.

As far as "the media" not telling the whole story, if the coppers don't release all the facts, then it isn't the media at all, but a governing entity withholding the information. 10 years ago so many people hated the government because they went after the 'church' of poor, helpless, innocent David Koresh, and now, if the government doesn't tell us what's happening, but goes after teenage writers, everything's all hunky cool. Guess it's us who are the flip floppers after all.

And since in Kentucky having anything written about violence at a high school is a felony - which is why the bail was set higher and the charges held, as reported in the story - anyone owning copies of "Carrie" or novelizations of "Heathers" will be in SO much trouble.