A Crown prosecutor is seeking jail time for a youth who has pleaded guilty to a mischief charge laid after a bomb threat at a Lacombe school on Jan. 21.
Steven Joseph Reader, 18, is one of several youths who were charged by Lacombe police investigating a series of violent messages — including the bomb threat — sprayed on an outside wall of Ecolé James S. McCormick School.
In Red Deer provincial court on Wednesday Crown prosecutor Murray McPherson said the school was evacuated as a result and that cleaning and repairs cost more than $4,000.
Reader admits to one of the tags while another youth has confessed to the one identified as the bomb threat, said McPherson.
He submitted photos of the damage to Judge Gordon Deck, after drawing a circle around Reader’s tag.
“This is the charming one that tells the school where to go,” said McPherson.
“It’s a contemptuous act done in a flagrant way,” he said, arguing for a “short, sharp” prison term followed by a period of probation to send a message that such behaviour cannot be tolerated.
McPherson also asked that Reader be ordered to pay $1,000 restitution to cover his share of the damage.
Law student Andrew Phypers asked Deck to order a pre-sentence report for his client before passing sentence.
He introduced the school principal and school counsellor, who had accompanied the young man to court.
Phypers said Reader, who has a Grade 10 education, has returned to school and is doing very well.
Deck granted the request, ordering that Reader return on May 30 for sentencing.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com