Two Mundelein High teens charged in bomb threat
A pair of Mundelein High School students were released on bond Wednesday afternoon, hours after being charged with making bomb threats against the school.
Dylan Britt and James Voss, both 17, face up to 15 years in prison if convicted of falsely making a terrorist threat.
Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Michael Mermel said each sent Jan. 25 e-mails to top administrators warning of a bomb at the school.
Britt, of 1314 Marlbourgh Court, is accused of using the Internet identity of another student who was not involved in the incident to send the first message at 9:59 a.m. from a school computer.
The e-mail message warned of a bomb in a locker at the school. It was sent to Deputy Superintendent/Principal John Ahlgrim, an assistant principal, a dean and a secretary.
Mermel said Britt then sent a text message to Voss at his home at 1104 W. Crystal St., with the stolen Internet identity and instructions on what to say in a second message.
Voss sent that message at 11:55 a.m., Mermel said, to the same recipients.
Police were notified soon after the e-mails were received, Co-Superintendent Linda Hanson said. The campus was locked down for the day until authorities determined the threat wasn't legitimate.
The school's technology department helped find the students who sent the e-mails, Hanson said. Police interviewed Britt and Voss and say both admitted sending the messages.
The two appeared Wednesday morning before Associate Judge Louis Berrones and said they intended to hire their own lawyer.
Berrones set bond at $100,000 for each. Both were released from custody after posting $10,000 in cash.
They are due to return to court Feb. 4.
Neither teen was in school Wednesday, Hanson said. Both will face school disciplinary action, but not necessarily expulsion, she said.
Hanson called the incident sad.
"These kinds of things often don't have a good ending for kids," she said. "In the end, my plea would be for (kids) not to do anything that would put their futures in jeopardy."