Upon order of the Court, recommendation from the District Attorney General’s Office, and agreed upon by the defense counsel, he has been released to his guardians conditional on the following rules: 1) That he remain in home detention, 2) Have no access to social media or the internet, 3) Stay off all property of the Tipton County Board of Education, 4) Be monitored by a GPS tracking system, and 5) Complete an outpatient psychological evaluation.

A charge of Identity Theft (TCA 39-14-150) was added to his current charges during today’s court proceedings.  The matter will be set for an adjudication and dispositional hearing once the court receives the recommendations of the psychological evaluation. 

As stated previously by the District Attorney General, the identity of the juvenile and the juvenile court records and proceedings are confidential and sealed according to state law. 

On 19 September 2015 at about 5:30 PM Tipton County Sheriff’s Office Detectives and Joint Terrorism Task Force agents arrested a 13 year old male juvenile from Mason in connection with the social media bomb threats directed at four Tipton County Schools earlier today.  The juvenile was confirmed to be an 8th grader at Brighton Middle School and was currently attending classes at the Tipton County Alternative Learning Center.

Detectives and Agents interviewed the juvenile who admitted to his role in the bogus threats.  The juvenile’s guardians are cooperating with officials at this hour to confirm that no weapons or explosive devices were at the Mason home.  Detectives are being assisted by District Attorney Mike Dunavant and his staff in reviewing the evidence in the case.

The juvenile is being charged with Filing A False Report. The juvenile is being held in Shelby County Juvenile Detention Center pending his arraignment in Tipton County Juvenile Court on Friday, 20 November. The charge is for intentionally initiating or circulating a report of a present or impending bombing, fire or other emergency, knowing that the report is false and will cause action by an official organized to deal with the emergency.  The charge is a Class C Felony with a sentence range of 3 to 6 years. 

“I commend the agents and detectives who have continued to work with school officials to identify the suspect in this case. We were not going to stop until we found who was responsible for the threat.  I want to thank all of the agencies who have assisted in the investigation.  It has disrupted schools, our community and demanded countless hours of law enforcement resources since last night.  This arrest should help to relieve concerns for parents and our community for the safety of our children.” said Sheriff J.T. “Pancho” Chumley.

If anyone has information in this case, please call the Criminal Investigations Division at 901-475-3300, Central Dispatch after hours at 901-475-4300, phone in tips at 901-475-3307, email tips to Sheriff@tiptonco.com or Facebook Sheriff J.T. Pancho Chumley.”

Sheriff J.T. ‘Pancho’ Chumley

For additional information or questions please contact:
Public Information Officer, Chief Donna Turner
dturner@tiptonco.com; (901) 475-3300, (901) 258-0993