15-year-old girl accused of bomb threats at Keys schools

A Marathon High School ninth-grader has been charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor for her alleged role in December bomb threats at Marathon High School and Key West High.

The 15-year-old girl is accused of making a false bomb report, tampering with evidence, using a two-way communications device to facilitate a felony and giving false information to police.

Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Ruth Becker ordered her to be handed over to the state Department of Juvenile Justice.

The sheriff's office says the threats were actually made by a male — who hasn't been arrested — but that the girl was a chief player. No motive was disclosed.

Investigators have not named the male suspect.

School District Superintendent Mark Porter said Sheriff Rick Ramsay told him about Friday’s arrest.

"I think the consequences on our end may pale in terms of what she will face in the court," Porter said. "I think anyone involved in something like this needs to know how serious it is. ... This young lady made a very poor decision. It is highly disruptive and creates a lot of unnecessary expense and anxiety."

The sheriff's office says the first threat — both proved to be false — was called in to Key West High at 8 a.m. Dec. 14. The caller said "there is a bomb planted in your school. You have 10 minutes to evacuate." Administrators sent students home.

The second was called into Marathon High at 8:12 a.m. the same day. The caller said "there has been a bomb planted at your school. You have 10 minutes to evacuate. Thank you." Students were removed from the school but later returned to class.

The sheriff's office says the day of the threats, the girl sent a text with a Google map of Marathon High to whoever made the calls.

Since October, Keys schools were evacuated five times because of what turned out to be false threats.

"Bomb threats are no joke and we take them very seriously,” Ramsay said. "These threats took a lot of time, a lot of people and a lot of resources to investigate. They also caused a great amount of fear for parents and school staff. Our detectives have worked hard on this investigation and we will continue to work toward identifying and arresting the second suspect in this case."

This story was originally published January 24, 2016 at 7:06 AM with the headline "15-year-old girl accused of bomb threats at Keys schools."