In the wake of the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, a series of threats to commit violence in local schools have appeared.

The Columbine High School massacre, which resulted in the shooting deaths of 12 students and 3 teachers at Columbine High School, happened on April 20, 1999. The shooting of 6 students in Conyers, Georgia happened on May 20, 1999. Both of these nationally reported events triggered a reign of terror in southwestern Michigan, which led to an attempted copycat crime on May 25, 1999 in Bridgman, Michigan.

The Plot

May 7

On May 7, 1999, 15-year-old Kondwani Bethea called in a bomb threat to nearby Cassopolis High School. This led to the cancellation of an entire day of classes. Cass County Prosecutor Scott Teter charged the perpetrator and stated "if convicted, [he] could be incarcerated until he turns 19." The media did not report the actual charges and never reported the disposition of this case.

May 18

On May 18, 1999, 18-year-old Thomas Noe and 17-year-old Jamie Pop, called in a bomb threat and planted a fake bomb in the parking lot of their school in nearby South Haven. This also led to the cancellation of an entire school day. The police chief stated the arrests sends a clear message to students that "if this is your idea of a practical joke, there are some pretty harsh consequences." South Haven Police Investigator Bill Daggett stated, "The only motive I was able to come up with was this was a prank and the hoped to get some time off from school." They were charged with possession of explosives with intent to terrorize, a 10-year felony, and making a false bomb threat, a 4-year felony. Thomas Noe was sentenced in early August 1999 by an unreported judge in Van Buren County to a week in jail, three years probation and to pay $325 in attorney’s fees. He was required to apologize or spend an additional 23 days in jail. On August 20, 1999, Van Buren County Judge William Buhl sentenced Jamie Popp to two years probation, 20 hours of community service and to stand before the school and publicly apologize for "terrorizing" the community.

May 19

The very next day, May 19, 1999, 14-year-old Andrew Hayes and 14-year-old Lakiki Whitfield called in a bomb threat to South Haven's middle school. Andrew Hayes was arrested May 20, 1999 and spent two weeks in a detention center before arraignment. It was announced he could face up to four years in prison. Lakiki Whitfield was released to her parents until a pre-trial hearing in Van Buren Juvenile Court. On the same day an unknown person called in a bomb threat to South Haven's high school. These threats caused the evacuation of 1190 students from the elementary, middle and high schools and cancellation of the entire day. It also cancelled all after-school events. Bomb sniffing dogs were brought in to search all of the schools. A fake bomb, consisting of a pipe with some nails and wires in it, was found. The media did not report the disposition or sentencing of this case. In an article dated May 19, 1999 in the Herald-Palladium, South Haven high school Principal John Walker was quoted as saying, "This was nothing more than a prank, but a nasty, ugly prank. The person or people who did this are not about the good of the school. They are just about getting attention and causing trouble for a lot of people." He also stated, "The South Haven school district began tracing all school calls after last month’s fatal school shootings in Colorado."

May 20

On May 20, 1999 a letter to the editor appeared in the Herald-Palladium . The writer is not identified. This person stated, "For the moment, students bent on causing disruptions and spreading fear among classmates have gained the upper hand." "The best deterrent society has is enforcing laws against making such threats to the limit. The caller or callers in the South Haven cases, if discovered, could easily face a felony conviction." From this and many other letters to the editor it is apparent that the entire region was already terrified immediately prior to Madejczyk's threat.

These public examples were all reported in the region's newspaper, The Herald-Palladium. The consequences of making such threats were clearly publicized on numerous occasions in the weeks prior to Madejczyk's threat. The fact that calls were being traced was clearly publicized.

The Plot Is Put Into Action

May 23

On Sunday, May 23, 1999, eight firearms were stolen from a gun cabinet in a home in the Bridgman school district. A Bridgman parent notified the school principal, Ellen Rudy, first thing Monday, May 24, 1999. She immediately contacted the police. All schools in Bridgman, St. Joseph, Lakeshore and River Valley school districts immediately locked down all buildings except their main entrance. The schools initiated extra monitoring of parking lots and hallways. The media never reported if this case was ever solved.

May 25

Tuesday night, May 25, 1999, Albert Madejczyk sent an e-mail to a computer terminal of a Bridgman High School counselor. The three paragraph email stated, "some students will be spending the summer in a graveyard" if certain frivolous demands were not met. The threat was directed at the elementary, middle and high schools in the Bridgman district and included staff. His demands included establishing an open campus (he didn't like the lock down), curriculum changes and "flex time", said Prosecutor James Cherry.

May 26

The e-mail was read on Wednesday, May 26, 1999. Local and state police, the FBI, Berrien County Sheriffs and the U.S. Attorney General's office responded immediately and conducted an extensive investigation. Police were posted at every school in the Bridgman district.

Late Wednesday night the FBI was able to trace the message back to Madejczyk's home computer. Detectives questioned him and recommended the Berrien County Prosecutor authorize felony charges according to Jerry Sunday of the Bridgman State Police Post but Madejczyk was not arrested. He remained in the custody of his parents and did not attend school while the case was reviewed. He was charged with extortion on June 7, 1999.

Crime and Punishment

Assistant Prosecutor Mary Malesky prosecuted the case. Madejczyk originally pled not guilty to the charge of extortion but changed his mind during a rearraignment on Wednesday, July 14, 1999 and pled guilty. On August 11, 1999, Berrien Family Court Judge Thomas Nelson placed Madejczyk on probation "at least until a review on November 24, 1999". He ordered Madejczyk to stay in school, pay court costs, complete 40 hours of community service and write an essay on how computers can be used to better society. He was also ordered to write an apology to the community as a letter to the editor. He was not allowed to take final exams at the end of the school year. He was to transfer to River Valley schools in the fall but it is not clear if this was ordered or was due to his family moving etc... It appears River Valley did not accept him as he was interviewed as a Galien High School student on April 6, 2001. The article was titled "Networking class unique to Galien" and was written by Brenda Beadenkopf in the Herald-Palladium.

On June 10, 1999, Bridgman Superintendent Carl Hilling wrote a letter to the editor of the Herald-Palladium regarding the incident. Some key points from his letter include the fact that parents had to volunteer to monitor the main entrance to the school for the remainder of the school year. He states, "Those last few weeks were not enjoyable" He praised the staff that "arrived at work each day, not knowing what to expect" and stated, "The “unknown” sent a feeling of uncertainty and did raise their anxiety levels."

It was not until November 13, 1999 that Madejczyk sent his apology letter to the editor of the Herald-Palladium. This was just 11 days before his case was to be reviewed. The media did not report if his probation was continued past the review date. His apology letter was very short. He acknowledged that the lock down because of the stolen guns had already created a panic at the school. He apologized for making that situation more stressful. He states, "I was under stress at the time and my reasoning and judgment were clouded. I was confused and meant no harm to anyone and am sorry for this stupid prank. The purpose of this communication was to draw attention to and change the high school schedule and curriculum. However, this e-mail turned out as a threat to the school." He went on to state, "I’ve learned my lesson and I hope that other students will learn from this mistake too." Madejczyk was an honor student with no grades lower than a B.

Madejczyk's own school had been on lock down for two days following the local theft of guns by high school aged perpetrators. He was aware that the perpetrators of the gun theft had not yet been determined. He used the stolen gun story to build up his threat. He was well aware of the terror in his own school and in the entire region and nation when he made his threat. His threat demanded the immediate attention of the FBI and the U.S. Attorney General's office whereas state and local police handled all of the previous threats.

His actions helped further the continued terrorization of the entire region.

The Plot Continues

On May 27, 1999, 17-year-old Jason Vawter and 16-year-old Gregg Woodard called in a bomb threat to Coloma High School. They were both arrested and charged with making a false bomb threat; a felony. They pled guilty to attempted making of a bomb threat in a plea agreement. Jason Vawter was permanently expelled. Berrien Trial Judge John Hammond ordered Jason Vawter to pay $4,884 to the school and emergency agencies that responded to the prank call and $620 in fines and costs. Judge Hammond also ordered three-years probation, 50 hours of community service and for Vawter to obtain a GED. Jason Vawter's conviction will be erased if he complied with the terms of his sentence. Even though he was not ordered to apologize publicly, he wrote a very detailed and heartfelt letter to the editor on September 22, 1999. In it he clearly spells out the problems he caused and the lessons he learned. Gregg Woodard was expelled for the first semester of the 1999-2000 school year. He was ordered into the county Juvenile Center's residential treatment program on August 17, 1999. In September 1999 he was locked up in the center’s secure detention facility for walking away and stealing a car.

A letter to the editor in the Herald-Palladium on May 30, 1999, recommended closing down the schools for the remainder of the school year. Kathy Eberhardt of Coloma quoted the Coloma High School principal as saying "I have over 100 days of sick time coming, and I’m thinking about taking it now!" She also quotes her son as saying "You know Mom, I used to go to school worrying about whether or not I would pass a certain test. Now I worry about whether or not I will make it home alive." Her letter encouraged others to write to the governor in support of closing the schools early as she had done. She and her son were clearly terrified.

On June 2, 1999, an unidentified 14-year-old student left a bomb threat note in the restroom in Allegan’s middle school. The student was arrested. The disposition of the case was not reported in the media.

In a June 25, 1999, article by Lynn Stevens in the Herald-Palladium, New Buffalo Area School Superintendent Michael Lindley, spoke about a meeting of Berrien County school superintendents regarding the recent threats. He stated the state now requires schools to treat violators with emotional or behavioral disorders differently from ordinary students who carry weapons to school. The article states, "People familiar with specific cases translated Lindley’s careful wording to mean an action that can get a regular student expelled can result in only a reprimand for an emotionally disturbed student." The article also states, "the county is planning to remove violent students from public schools, but there is no date set for implementing the plan."

A complete review of all articles regarding threats made to schools in the region during this time period reveals that, while Madejczyk's threat was more serious and required the FBI and the U.S. Attorney General, he was given the least punishment and allowed to attend a neighboring school. Compared to the other cases, Madejczyk was given a reprimand.

A June 8, 1999, article by Todd Dvorak in the Herald-Palladium reported Albert Madejczyk would be tried as a juvenile. "The decision to try him in Berrien Juvenile Court lessens the severity of any punishment if he is found guilty," Prosecutor Jim Cherry said. "For adults, extortion is punishable by up to 20 years in prison." "We see this as a measured response . . . a bit of a balancing act. We don’t want to overreact and we don’t want to underreact. But we have to take this seriously, because he scared a lot of people." "So what we’re going to do is keep this young man in juvenile court so we can handle him in the philosophy of the juvenile system… and allow him to get the services the court thinks are appropriate for him."

Sources

• The Herald-Palladium