Archive for the 'Winslow Township' Category

Prosecutor asks that 2 Winslow teens be tried as adults:

CAMDEN — The Camden County Prosecutor’s Office has asked a Family Court judge to transfer to adult court charges of conspiracy to murder against two Winslow Township High School students, one 16 and the other 15.

Similar charges against a third Winslow Township High School student, also 15, and a 14-year-old Hammonton High School student, will remain in the jurisdiction of juvenile court, Acting Camden County Prosecutor James P.Lynch said Tuesday.

He said his office also will withdraw a pending terrorism charge against all four teens.

The four were arrested after police learned of a plot to kill as many as 17 people, beginning with students in a lunch period at the high school, in April. The plan fell apart when the suspects were unable to obtain weapons.

All four suspects are due to appear June 1 before Superior Court Judge Angelo DiCamillo. All but the Hammonton student are being held at the Camden County Youth Center.

The Hammonton student is under house arrest.

Teens in massacre plot to have court hearing today:

The four teens accused of plotting an attack at Winslow Township High School in South Jersey are due in court today so a judge can determine whether or not the case will be moved to adult court. Also this little tidbit was in the article that I didn’t know before…

Court documents show the alleged targets were 12 students, seven teachers and eight adults with no ties to the high school.

Emphasis mine.

Kind of takes away from the whole bullying theory doesn’t it?

Judge Won’t Drop Terrorism Charges Against Students:

The headline is misleading. From every article I’ve read so far there was no speculation that the terrorism charges were going to be dropped.

Anyway, relatives of the suspects have been quoted in this article…

“I don’t think that that’s possible that they would have ever done that,” said the father of one suspect.

“They’re overreacting. They’re overreacting on those three poor kids. They’re overreacting because of terrorism,” said a woman related to one of the suspects.

And the “Not My Kid” Syndrome strikes again. If it was their kid that was targeted they be screaming for blood.

If making plans to kill 25 people isn’t terrorism than what is?

Winslow schools to have increased police presence:

The Winslow Township School District in South Jersey has accepted the township’s offer for additional police protection at their middle and high schools in wake of the recent plot that was uncovered to attack Winslow Twp. High School. The Board is also considering metal detectors and school uniforms.

Let me tell you something about metal detectors and school uniforms. Metal detectors didn’t stop Jeff Weise at Red Lake High School. School uniforms are not going to cut down on harassment and bullying. Take it from someone who wore a uniform to school. It doesn’t help.

Don’t get me wrong. I still thinking killing someone over bullying is a stupid idea but neither the metal detectors nor the school uniforms will help. They’ll just be a waste of taxpayer money.

Teens say ‘goths’ just one of many high school cliques

This is a pretty good article from the Courier Post that tries to dispel the stereotypes about goths being satan worshippers and the like. However one of the suspects isn’t helping to break that stereotype…

At Winslow Township High School, three teens, described by their peers as “goths,” face numerous charges for allegedly planning to execute up to 25 teachers and students during a lunch period. One of the teens, the alleged ringleader, describes himself as “gothic” on his MySpace Web site and hails Satan as his hero.

I can’t confirm that since we don’t have the names of the suspects.

The best quote comes from a 16-year-old girl from Moorestown, NJ…

Canella Kolo, 16, said she knows that some “goths” are distraught over the harassment but she doesn’t think they would resort to violence.

“You got some issues if that’s what you’re thinking about,” said Kolo, a student at Rancocas Valley. “They just talk a lot.”

2 girls get credit for foiling plot:

This article, also from the Courier Post, commends the school and the two students who came forward about the plot…

This week’s revelations of an alleged plot to kill 25 people in and around Winslow Township High School had a silver lining, interim Principal Michele Ferner said.

“The good news is that the system worked,” said Ferner, who took over the troubled school in January. “The kids trusted the administration and the teaching staff enough to come to us with the rumors, knowing that we would investigate them.”

Two girls arrived in Ferner’s office March 30 to tell what they had heard of a plot. They acted shy, a bit embarrassed and made reference to a 2003 movie that depicts a school shooting, she said.

Ferner and her staff investigated and notified the township police. The three Winslow High students who were eventually charged in an alleged murder conspiracy were not in school that day, she said.

The Camden County prosecutors office also said there were no plans to charge any more suspects at this time but the investigation is ongoing.