3 arrested on charges of making threats made against Upstate high school’s administration
Three teenagers – two current and one former Broome High School student – were arrested Friday after being accused of making threats against school administration that were to be carried out on the first day of school.
Joshua Tony Owens, 18, of 211 Maple St. in Pacolet and Chad Alan Rowley, 19, of 2135 Bonner Road in Cowpens, were charged with threatening the life of a person, family of public official, teacher or principal and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, Master Deputy Mike Clevenger with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Saturday.
A juvenile also was arrested and faces the same charges as Owens and Rowley, Clevenger said. The third suspect’s name is being withheld because he is a juvenile, Clevenger added.
The sheriff’s office and the State Law Enforcement Division began investigating Thursday after a tip came through the Crimestoppers line detailing the threat and naming all three suspects, Clevenger said.
Owens and Rowley were released on Saturday afternoon, according to jail logs. Both were released on a $30,000 personal recognizance bond.
Even though three suspects have been arrested, Lt. Kevin Bobo with the sheriff’s office said it doesn’t mean the investigation is complete. With that said, he added, releasing specific details at this time could jeopardize the investigation and hinder successful prosecution.
“At present, we don’t feel like any credible threat still exists at Broome High School or any other District Three school, but acting out of an abundance of caution is why additional officers will be present at Broome and all the elementary schools all next week and longer if necessary to complement the school resource officers already assigned to Broome and the middle schools,” Bobo said.
Rowley is accused of delivering a “written or electronic threat to a public official, teacher or principal,” according to his arrest warrant.
“The message threatened the life or serious bodily injury to the victim and/or victim’s immediate family and was directly related to the victim’s professional responsibilities,” according to the warrant.
Owens’ arrest warrant states that between May and Aug. 13, he conspired with someone else to “commit the crime of kidnapping” and delivered a threat to a public official, teacher or principal.
Broome students will report to school on a normal schedule Monday, Spartanburg School District Three spokeswoman Sherri Horton said in a statement.
For as long as it is necessary, additional security measures will be in place at all District Three schools even though the threat was at Broome High, Horton added. Those measures will include five additional Spartanburg County deputies at Broome.
“We will continue to put the safety of our students and staff first and foremost,” said District Three Superintendent Kenny Blackwood. “We are grateful that someone had the courage to use the Crimestoppers tip line, which led to these three young men being brought in for questioning.”
Blackwood also expressed his gratitude to the sheriff’s office and SLED investigators for their “quick investigation and action” regarding the threats.
Bobo said credible and timely information prevented a potentially dangerous situation from happening. He added that citizens are always encouraged to notify school officials and law enforcement any time they hear of a possible threat on campus.