Third student arrested in school threats

Kim Smith

Friday, May 3, 2002 | 11:12 a.m.

A third Pahrump Valley High School student in as many days has been arrested for allegedly threatening to blow up the school and a fourth student could be arrested soon, authorities said.

Nye County District Attorney Bob Beckett said the 16-year-old boy was arrested Wednesday evening after the sheriff's office was told the youth was overheard talking about a plan to blow up the school.

Beckett said the boy has been charged with conspiracy to make a bomb threat and threatening to cause bodily harm or death to a student or school employee.

Nye County Sheriff's Office Lt. Bill Becht said the boys arrested Tuesday and Wednesday are brothers and it appears they conspired with the boy arrested Monday to blow up the school.

"At first we thought the second kid was just spouting off or making a different plan, but our investigation has revealed all three boys are tied together," Becht said.

Beckett and Becht said authorities are looking into the possibility a fourth student was involved in the plot.

On Monday, 15-year-old boy was arrested after he allegedly hijacked a bus in Pahrump before school, using a Samurai sword to take control of the bus from its driver. The boy was apprehended after a chase into California. A written plan to blow up the school and school schematics were found on him, the sheriff's office said.

He faces robbery, grand larceny and assault with a deadly weapon charges.

Then, on Tuesday, a 14-year-old boy was arrested after several students reported the freshman was threatening to blow the school up in two weeks. He too has been charged with threatening to cause bodily harm or death to a student or school employee.

The boy in the first incident faces an extradition hearing on Tuesday, Beckett said. The initial appearances for the other two youths, who are being held in the Hawthorne Juvenile Facility, have not yet been scheduled.

The boy in Monday's incident told police he found the sword lying behind the school, but a Pahrump resident reported Thursday that the sword had been stolen when his house was burglarized April 2, Beckett said.

Authorities are trying to determine if the boy is tied to the burglary, Beckett said.