Police: Teacher Made Bomb Threats (To get out of work)

[Kodemaster]

This actually happened in Syracuse, NY; about 1 hour from where I live.

Police: Teacher Made Bomb Threats
Local music teacher didn't want to work on those days, sheriff says

Thursday, June 02, 2005

By Jerry Rosen
Staff writer


A North Syracuse elementary school music teacher is facing four felony charges in connection with a series of false bomb threats in 2003.

Anna C. Markle, 27, of 227 Erickson St., Syracuse, is in the Justice Center Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail. She faces four counts of first-degree falsely reporting an incident, a class D felony.

"This is a very unusual situation," said Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh. "I can't think of any other (bomb threat) case where a teacher was involved."

Markle, who teaches singing in her classes, was assigned to Bear Road Elementary School in 2000. Walsh said Markle told investigators she was having second thoughts about being a teacher at the time.

"She just didn't want to work those days," Walsh said. "I hope the state licensing people take a good look at her credentials. If she's convicted of a felony, I'm sure they will."

North Syracuse schools Superintendent Kathleen Gramet said Markle has been suspended, with pay, pending an internal investigation.

"The sheriff pressed charges so now our investigation can start," Gramet said. "It's hard to say how long it will take."

Gramet declined to discuss Markle's record with the district, citing privacy issues.

Philip Cleary, vice president of the North Syracuse Education Association, the local chapter of New York United Teachers, said his union holds bomb threats as "very serious" and that the union has offered rewards for the arrest and conviction of people making false threats.

But, he said, the union also "wants to make sure the teacher's due process rights are protected."

Bail for Markle was set during an appearance in Clay Town Court Wednesday. She is scheduled to return to that court for arraignment today.

Sheriff's Deputy Robert Owens, the district's school resource officer, had been working on the case since the first of four threatening notes was found in the Bear Road school on Feb. 11, 2003. The other notes were discovered on Feb. 13, 14 and March 6. Deputies also are checking whether a fifth note is related, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John D'Eredita.

Bear Road school has about 600 pupils, Gramet said, all of whom were sent into the midwinter cold each time the school was searched. During the three days in February, the high temperature never got above 18 degrees. On March 6, the high temperature was 27.

Under those conditions, school officials typically search large areas, such as the cafeteria and hallways, first, then move the children into the already secured areas while the room-to-room search goes on, Gramet said.

After each incident, the school day resumed when the search ended.

Walsh said the threats were expensive.

"Any time we have to search a big building like that it's costly to us," Walsh said. "(Cost) depends if we send in dogs; we tend to send all patrol units. It usually takes an hour or better." He said he hadn't calculated an exact cost.

D'Eredita credited Owens' persistence with breaking the case.

"He's been working on it for two years," D'Eredita said. "He got a tip in the last couple of days."

D'Eredita said the tip came from an adult, but he wouldn't say more.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/poststandard/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1117701962287720.xml&coll=1
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1414997/posts[/b]