Silverado teacher charged in bomb threats

Keith Paul

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000 | 11:07 a.m.

A Silverado High School teacher charged with making bomb threats on campus was out on sick leave again today and is not expected back for weeks, but when -- and if she returns -- it will not be at Silverado.

English teacher Dylena Pierce was questioned by FBI agents and Clark County School Police and later booked into the Clark County jail Friday on two counts of making a bomb threat, officials said. Pierce spent the night in jail and was released on $6,000 bond on Saturday.

Pierce, 31, most likely will not be charged federally on the bomb threats, said Special Agent Joseph Dickey, a spokesman for the Las Vegas FBI office.

"The U.S. attorney is reviewing the case, but more than likely she will only face local charges," Dickey said. "But nothing has been ruled out, and the U.S. attorney is reviewing the evidence."

Pierce claimed to have found at least three notes over the past several weeks. On two occasions school was disrupted. On Oct. 31, the school was evacuated, and all the students stood in the parking lot for at least an hour while explosive-detecting dogs searched the school. School was eventually canceled, but authorities later determined there were no bombs in the building.

On Oct. 25, Pierce is accused of pulling a fire alarm after she claimed she found a note containing a bomb threat, officials said.

"We're confident that the appropriate person is facing the charges," Dickey said.

Dickey and school police would not reveal specifics about the case. But a source said Pierce claimed to have found the notes mixed in with homework papers.

The notes contained a bomb threat to the school and also praised Pierce as a teacher. The notes were written to read as if a student had authored them, the source said.

Sgt. Ken Young, spokesman for the school police, would not comment about the case and referred all questions to administrators.

The school district has not taken any action against Pierce regarding the charges, said Edward Goldman, assistant superintendent for administrative operations and staff relations.

"In a situation where a teacher is accused, the school district will wait and see if the district attorney proceeds with charges," Goldman said. "We don't have enough information to make any determinations at this point."

Pierce apparently told Silverado's principal she would be out of school for several weeks on sick leave. She was not in class on Monday or today. Pierce could not be reached for comment this morning.

Another source in the school district said if Pierce returns to teaching, she will be transferred to another school because of the allegations she made the bomb threats.

Pierce has been a teacher in Clark County since August 1992 starting in James Cashman Middle School and has been at Silverado since 1994, said Mary Stanley-Larsen, a school district spokeswoman.

Pierce was apparently a popular teacher at Silverado with at least one message left on the school's website guest book saying she was a good teacher. The message apparently had been left before Pierce was arrested.

Dickey said the FBI had the behavioral sciences unit work up a profile of the person writing the bomb threats. He would not reveal what the profilers determined from the evidence, but said authorities are sure they have arrested the correct person.

No motive was determined for the recent threats at Silverado, but Dickey said bomb threats are often made as "a cry for help" or "revenge for some type of grievance." But he noted motives vary from case to case.