Edhat StaffSource: Santa Barbara County Sheriff
On October 4, 2017 deputies from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, Coastal Division investigated a “Snapchat” post by a Carpinteria High School student posing with a firearm. Sheriff’s deputies quickly identified and detained the student in the photo on campus. The 15-year-old student was ultimately arrested for criminal threats and brandishing a firearm. The firearm was later recovered and seized from the student’s residence. A 17-year old relative of the student was also arrested on campus for possession of a realistic pellet gun on school grounds. Both teens were booked into Santa Maria Juvenile Hall.
Later in the day, Sheriff’s deputies were alerted to an additional Carpinteria High School student who had also posted a photo on “Snapchat” holding a firearm. The 16-year-old student was contacted at his residence and arrested for criminal threats and possession of a replica firearm. He was also booked into the Santa Maria Juvenile Hall. It was later determined that there were never any actual credible threats to Carpinteria High School itself related to the Snapchat posts.
This is an example of how social media can be used in a criminal manner to threaten and intimidate others. The Sheriff’s Office wants to take this opportunity to commend those individuals who promptly reported the suspicious posts which helped lead to a quick resolution. Social media is a powerful tool and there is an important need to always use discretion and caution when posting information.
The City of Carpinteria contracts with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services.
What’s this? They attend high school in Carp yet as the article reads they were “booked into Santa Maria Juvenile Hall.” Huh? Isn’t that a tad far to take these kids vs the kiddie jail in SB? Was a deputy in need of some serious OT?
Totally agree! Where are the responsible parents in this?
Lets break this down:
One kid took a photo of himself with a gun AT HIS OWN HOUSE. He was not charged with illegal possession of a firearm or any related charges so we can reasonably assume that it was the family’s gun. Did he actually make threats or was he just posing with the gun? Judging by the statement from the Sheriff’s office (“It was later determined that there were never any actual credible threats to Carpinteria High School itself related to the Snapchat posts.”) I am guessing that they considered some kid posing with a gun as a threat in and of itself. If there is nothing more to the story, this arrest is utterly ridiculous.
The kid who got arrested on campus with a pellet gun on school campus seems like the only truly guilty party here. He screwed up and should get a little taste of the “justice” system, but they also should not throw the book at him unless he committed other crimes.
The third is perhaps the most ridiculous. How can a kid be arrested for taking pictures with a pellet gun at his own house?
It must be mentioned that the sheriffs and DA will fabricate a “threat” out of thin air. It is quite possible that these kids posed with their pellet guns and said a rap lyric or something ominous that the DA will portray as an “immediate and significant” threat made by a menace to society.
This whole thing begs the question: how can a person be charged with brandishing a firearm or making threats for simply posting a picture of themselves with a gun on social media? You can bet that if they do not release more information, the DA and sheriffs are pulling charges out of thin air.
Say buddy…what you in for , 187 , 242 ? Naw man I took the orange safety plug out of my squirt gun.
I DON’T think this is over the top. Did you NOT read that the person with the gun was making threats. Did you NOT read that the pellet gun was at school, which is illegal? Those students should be stopped before they or others are hurt. Apparently, you don’t read or listen to the news to see what happens when one waves around a real or replica gun.
Yea SBCSO!! Good work!!
Who writes these things??
To first state that the Sheriff’s office “determined that there were never any actual credible threats to Carpenteria High School itself related to the Snapchat posts” and then in the very next sentence claim that “This is an example of how social media can be used in a criminal manner to threaten and intimidate others” is contradictory .
Be cautions with your words SBSO, as the second statements implies that you are using this circumstance to get into our phones, a controversial subject.
These teens shouldn’t have been posing with guns and saying threatening things period but they did and they got caught. Good! Zero tolerance for this crap. They should know better by this age not to do things like this and the consequence fits. No sympathy. I would be so ashamed of it was My kid