UTAH COUNTY, March 5, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A Utah County teenager was booked into jail on a felony charge after police say he tweeted a threat to harm students at Lehi’s Skyridge High School.
Benjamen Ryan Bailey, 19, was booked on suspicion of a threat of terrorism, a third-degree felony, in connection with a Feb. 25 tweet stating that “he was going to do a school shooting,” says a probable cause statement filed by a Lehi Police official. “The text contained a gun emoji and a crying face emoji.”
A friend of Bailey who received the text contacted the Lehi Police Department. Bailey was a student at Skyridge High.
Police responded to the family residence, in Saratoga Springs, where Bailey had been staying, and spoke with him.
“Benjamen was advised of his Miranda rights and chose to speak with officers,” the probable cause statement says. “Benjamen stated that he had sent a message to a friend that could be perceived as a problem, but he was only joking. When asked what the text said, Benjamen would not answer directly, but just said over and over that it was a joke.
“Benjamen later advised that the text said he was going to do a school shooting. Benjamen was taken into custody and transported to Utah County Jail.”
Bailey’s bail was set at $5,000.
