Two suburban teens arrested over Stevenson High attack hoax

Two suburban teens were arrested Friday in connection with an Internet threat against a high school that turned out to be a hoax.

One suspect, a 17-year-old from Fox River Grove, created a message warning of an attack at Stevenson High School, police said. There are four schools in the U.S. with that name, including one in Lincolnshire, so it was not clear which was the supposed target, police said.

Federal investigators later determined the threat was a prank.

The other teen, a Stevenson student, found the message, was interviewed by police about it and then reproduced it on another Web site despite being told not to speak of it, authorities said.

The teens were arrested Friday morning at their homes by Lincolnshire police. They didn't know each other before their arrests, police said.

Jeremie Dalin, 17, of 209 Bridle Path, Fox River Grove, was charged with falsely making a terrorist threat. If convicted, the Barrington High School senior could be sentenced to between four and 15 years in prison, police said.

Dennis Oh, 17, of 1245 Deerfield Parkway, Buffalo Grove, was charged with misdemeanor obstructing a peace officer. The Stevenson junior could face up to a year in jail if found guilty.

The arrests send a message "that this type of activity, under no circumstances, will be tolerated," Lincolnshire Police Chief Randy Melvin said.

"Kids really need to think about the consequences of their actions," Melvin said.

Neither of the teens, nor their families, could be reached for comment Friday.

The initial threat appeared Oct. 30 on a Web site devoted to Japanese animation and comic books, authorities said. Two people independently reported the threat to police and the FBI.

The other three Stevenson high schools are in New York and Michigan.

The post said violence would erupt on Oct. 31. Within hours of its discovery, FBI agents traced the message to a computer at Dalin's home, authorities said.

Dalin told agents the post was a hoax and said he didn't know there was a Stevenson High campus in the area, the FBI has said.

Dalin later told police he removed the post himself after he recognized the potential ramifications, Lincolnshire police investigator Adam Hyde said.

Although the FBI called the message a terrorist threat, the U.S. attorney's office deferred the case to local authorities, in part because of Dalin's age. Illinois law defines a juvenile as someone younger than 17, but people younger than 18 are considered juveniles under federal law.

Working with the Lake County state's attorney's office, Lincolnshire police pursued felony charges because of the hoax's impact on the community.

The department was deluged with calls from parents as news of the threat spread, police said, and more than 500 students missed school on Oct. 31, far more than usual.

"This caused a major disruption of a school (with) 4,000-plus students, some of whom were very distraught by these threats," Melvin said.

Oh was arrested because he disobeyed the police's order not to talk about the investigation or the initial threat, police said. Investigators spoke to Oh after learning someone had e-mailed a copy of Dalin's message to him, Hyde said.

After the arrests were announced, Stevenson High School spokesman Jim Conrey called the hoax a "sick joke" that wasted authorities' time and caused stress in the community.

Barrington Area Unit District 220 officials will cooperate with authorities and undertake their own investigation, a spokeswoman said Friday.

Dalin was released from police custody Friday afternoon after posting 10 percent of a $100,000 bond. Oh was released after posting 10 percent of a $50,000 bond.

Both teens are scheduled to appear in Lake County circuit court Nov. 28.