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Bomb threat accused receives conditional discharge

One of the accused in a Lacombe school bomb threat was given a conditional discharge in Red Deer provincial court on Thursday.

One of the accused in a Lacombe school bomb threat was given a conditional discharge in Red Deer provincial court on Thursday.

Steven Joseph Reader, 18, was one of several people charged, some of whom are youths, by Lacombe Police after a violent message, including a bomb threat, was spray-painted on an outside wall of Ecole James S. McCormick School.

Appearing before Judge Gordon Deck, Reader pleaded guilty to tagging a message.

But he was not the one who spray painted the bomb threat.

Reader’s defence attorney Andrew Phypers said the incident was a lapse in judgment.

Reader had a difficult childhood and was diagnosed with both attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Both his principal and his social worker submitted letters supporting his efforts to turn his life around and do well.

Reader apologized for the incident and the damage it caused.

Crown prosecutor Murray McPherson had suggested a “short, sharp” prison term in a prior court appearance.

Deck agreed with Phypers’ submission of a conditional discharge.

He sentenced Reader to 12 months of probation, as well as 100 hours of community service, to be completed by May 16, 2014.