APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – A Seymour teen who made threats against Seymour High School will have a chance to have charges against him dismissed.
18-year-old River Erdmann plead guilty on Tuesday to making a terrorist threat.
However, the judge approved a deferred prosecution agreement, which means the charges will be dropped if he meets certain conditions.
According to a court official, those conditions include:
- No new criminal offenses
- Perform 100 hours of community service
- No contact with the school district, either facilities or events
- Get a G.E.D.
Erdmann could be convicted and then sentenced on the felony count, if he does not comply with the conditions.
Erdmann sent a photo of what looked like an assault-style rifle to his Snapchat group with a caption that said “Damon 2.0,” according to the criminal complaint.
Damon 2.0″ refers to another student who brought a weapon to school, causing a lock down, according to Seymour Police.
Some students reported the conversation to police and officers later determined the weapon in the image was actually an airsoft gun.
Police say the orange tip wasn’t visible due to the quality of the photo.
Outagamie County sheriff’s deputies searched Erdmann’s home but only found airsoft pellets and the magazine, according to the criminal complaint.
The complaint says that, Erdmann stated that everyone in the group chat was joking about a school shooting and he was being sarcastic when he texted “Shoots these totally deadly rounds bro. They’re like 50bmg bullets but in a ball. Definitely a threat everyone.”
Another person responded “100%” in the conversation.
Erdmann stated that “in the moment he thought it was funny but knows it is now a lot more serious than he intended it to be,” according to the complaint.
Erdmann’s mother has stated that her son would not shoot up school, and doesn’t deserve to spend time in jail for it, and called it a teachable moment for social media users.
