Bomb-threat suspect to appear in court

RITZVILLE — A local teenager will appear in Adams County Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 4, in connection with threatening to blowup Lind-Ritzville schools and shoot classmates.

Donald G. DesJardins, 14, of Ritzville, will appear before Judge Andrea Russell to answer to one count of threats to bomb, a Class B felony. He was arrested Oct. 22 and booked into Martin Hall juvenile detention center on $10,000 bail.

Authorities have yet to say if he will be tried as an adult.

Police and Adams County Sheriff's Office officers were called to the high school Monday, Oct. 21, after receiving multiple reports of social media threats to bomb or shoot students or teachers at the school. Public schools in Ritzville and Lind were closed while law enforcement used a Hanford Site bomb-detection dog to search for possible explosives.

A probable cause statement by investigating Police Officer Robert Dew detailed the threat, which resulted in the DesJardins' arrest at 11:30 p.m. Oct. 22, less than 24 hours after police learned of the threat.

According to the probable cause statement, Jessica Kidwell reported her daughter received a screen shot of a bomb threat posted to social media.

"Jessica sent me the screen shot for evidence," Dew wrote, "Jessica also said that the account sending the threats was created by Ayden Rand."

The screen shot showed 17 first names of students and "the German teacher" as targets, the probable cause statement said.

"There was also another message that read, 'Ima bomb the school,'" Dew wrote in the statement.

The officer requested Snapchat preserve information in the user account "joseph-roac2024."

"Shortly after sending the preservation request, I received a phone call from the FBI, who advised they had received a tip from Snapchat," Dew wrote. "The information Snapchat had provided showed that the account was created and messages sent from a geolocation that came back to 804 N. Division."

The officer's statement said he was familiar with the address and a juvenile there.

Dew contacted the teenager and his parents, court records show. He was also joined by Sheriff's Office detective Cale Yount.

The boy's parents allowed law enforcement officers to speak with their son privately in his bedroom, records show. During the interview, the teen admitted to creating the social media account and using the name "Aydon Rand" to send out the threat.

Following the interview, he was arrested, records show.

During first appearance in Superior Court, Judge Russell set his bail at $10,000 noting the teenager "is a threat for community safety."

The teenager has been ordered to have no contact with anyone he named in the threat.

The judge assigned attorney Andrea Crumpler as his pubic defender. Robert Lehman is prosecuting the case.