West Richland teen pleads innocent to threatening school

A 13-year-old West Richland boy pleaded innocent Wednesday to allegations he talked to classmates about shooting a teacher and others at his school.

Victor Ortiz appeared in Benton County Juvenile Court, where he is charged with felony harassment for the alleged threats to Enterprise Middle School.

The teen remains on house arrest after his release from the Juvenile Detention Center on $5,000 bail.

He was in court with his mother, who is supervising him while he is out of custody.

Ortiz can only leave his house to go directly to court in Kennewick and to his lawyer’s office in Pasco.

On Wednesday, Court Commissioner Jerri Potts acknowledged that it is a “fairly high-profile case” when asked if the media could record Ortiz’s hearing.

Even though courtrooms are open to the public in Washington state, kids appearing in juvenile court often are not recorded or photographed.

Potts restricted the media from getting a “frontal view” of Ortiz while in the court.

“School shootings are at the front and center of the public attention,” Potts said. “Although this is not a school shooting case, students, school personnel and the public have a right to know how these cases are handled.”

Prosecutors claim Ortiz used his school-issued Google Chromebook to research guns, attack drones, body armor, school shooting memes and the price of human body parts.

Ortiz told two friends about planning a shooting on the Paradise Way campus, and tried to recruit them to be his lookouts if he carried out the attack, court documents said.

He was arrested Jan. 28, two days after two other students went to Principal Jennifer Klauss with their concerns.

Klauss later told police that Ortiz previously was suspended from school for fighting with a student and was upset over that suspension.

School staff found he spent three hours in one day looking at topics that included weapons, crimes and terrorism, according to documents.

Ortiz, who was emergency expelled from Enterprise, has been ordered by the court to stay at least 2,000 feet away from the school. He also cannot use the internet or any electronic devices, and can’t have any guns, knives or other weapons.

This story was originally published February 7, 2018 at 1:23 PM with the headline "West Richland teen pleads innocent to threatening school."