Student behind school threat sent to jail for summer

A Crystal Lake teen who scrawled a threat of a Columbine-style shooting on a school washroom wall to get a day away from classes will now get three months away from just about everything.

Matthew D. Hayes, 19, was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in the McHenry County jail after he pleaded guilty to an attempted disorderly conduct charge as part of a deal with county prosecutors.

Hayes also must spend the next two years on probation, perform 100 hours of community service and pay about $1,650 in fines, fees and court costs as part of the plea deal.

In return, prosecutors dismissed two felony charges initially filed in the case and allowed Hayes to plead guilty to a misdemeanor.

"The message is in this day and age you can't play a prank like that," Assistant McHenry County State's Attorney Mary Baccam said. "It causes too much chaos and fear."

The threat, discovered April 19, 2007 at Crystal Lake Central High School, referenced the Virginia Tech University shootings that occurred three days earlier as well as the 1999 Columbine High School shootings, which occurred almost eight years earlier to the day.

Hayes himself first called attention to the threat, tracking down a police officer on the school's campus and informing him of it. After a series of interviews, police said, investigators determined that Hayes was responsible for the writings.

Despite Hayes' apparent wishes, Crystal Lake High School District 155 officials did not shut down the high school because of the threat, but did excuse students if they were picked up by a parent.

Hayes' attorney, Senior Assistant Public Defender Richard Behof, called the Crystal Lake teen "a really good kid who made a poor judgment at that time."