High school teacher confesses to series of threats ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2000 | 3:39 a.m.

A popular English teacher at Nevada's largest high school has confessed to writing a series of threatening notes to the school on her home computers, then disposing of the computers throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

Dylena Pierce told Clark County School District police, Silverado Principal Mark Coleman and the FBI that she "is sick" and in need of mental health counseling, according to the court documents.

The 31-year-old mother of two was arrested last week on suspicion of authoring a bizarre series of bomb threats at Silverado High School.

Prosecutors have charged Pierce with two felony counts of making bomb threats and two gross misdemeanor counts of pulling a fire alarm at Silverado.

If convicted of making a bomb threat - a class B felony - Pierce could face one to six years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 for each count.

To support the charges filed Tuesday, school district police submitted a six-page summary of evidence in the case to prosecutors. The summary, known as a declaration of arrest, was filed in Las Vegas Justice Court on Tuesday.

The summary states that on Oct. 25 Pierce claimed to find a computer-generated note in her school mailbox. The school, near Interstate 215 and Eastern Avenue, was evacuated and the Las Vegas Fire Department Bomb Squad was called to the scene.

The next day Pierce notified school police of a second note found on her computer keyboard at school. On Oct. 29, Pierce found a third note in a stack of papers at school. That note also contained another generic threat.

A fourth note was found by Pierce on Halloween in one of her classroom baskets, prompting her to pull a fire alarm, the arrest summary stated.

Pierce confessed to an FBI agent on Nov. 3 that she was responsible for all four notes and threats.

If any school district teacher is convicted of a felony in Clark County, they are immediately subject to dismissal from the school district, said Edward Goldman, assistant superintendent for staff relations at the school district. If a teacher is convicted of a gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor, the district would pursue dismissal or other disciplinary measures through administrative proceedings.

In administrative proceedings, a teacher proven to be mentally unstable can be fired by the district.