Golden Valley Teen Pleads Not Guilty To Criminal Threats Charge

Posted by: Perry Smith in Court August 19, 2014 - 11:39 am 0 456 Views

A Santa Clarita Valley teen was charged with one count of criminal threats for his alleged Instagram postings, a District Attorney’s Office spokesman said Tuesday.

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“The juvenile has been charged with one count of a felony of criminal threats,” said Greg Risling, a representative for the DA’s office.

The teen denied the charge in front of a judge, according to Risling, which is similar to a not guilty plea in adult court. His next court date is Sept. 5, according to officials.

A 15-year-old Golden Valley High School student was arrested Sunday, after alleged threats he posted to Instagram drew national attention.

The disposition of the case, as far as how the teen pleaded, is not known at this time. All inquiries to the court clerk were referred to the county’s Probation Department in Downey.

From a previous story:

A 15-year-old Golden Valley High School student was arrested around 9 a.m. Sunday in connection with the threats, according to a Sheriff’s Station official.

The threats, which posted through the Instagram account “Yaboyplank,” showed pictures of guns and said: “TO THE PEOPLE OF THE SCV AREA. THERE WILL BE A HUGE (expletive) SHOOTING SOON… ” and went on to say the threat was aimed at high school students.”

A representative of the Detectives Bureau for theSheriff’s Station said the photos appeared to be stock Internet footage and “there is not evidence the suspect has any access to these guns,” accordingto Lt. Brenda Cambra of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

“Detectives immediately responded to the station to begin working this investigation,” Cambra said. “A police report for Criminal Threats was written. At least twenty-five additional calls from residents alerting us to this post were received during the night.”

Deputies assigned to the Santa Clarita Valley Station received a phone call from a woman reporting that threatening posts had been made on Instagram around 10 p.m. Saturday.

The Instagram account used a photo of a Valencia High School in Texas to threaten a shooting in the Santa Clarita Valley in another post.

“Detectives immediately responded to the station to begin working this investigation,” the statement from Cambra read.

The Hart district released a statement to parents Sunday morning saying it “takes threats of this nature very seriously. We are working with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

“Extra precaution is being taken to ensure the safety of our students and staff on all of our campuses while it’s being investigated,” the statement read.

There have been no cancellation of classes, according to the statement.

This case is currently under investigation.

If you have any information as to who posted these threats, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station officials ask you call 661-255-1121 or if you would like to remain anonymous, please call the LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.