DOCUMENT: Internet, K-12

Teens Arrested For Facebook Death Threats

Cops: Four middle schoolers wrote of killing “snitch”

Facebook Threats

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Facebook Death Threat

FEBRUARY 3--Mistakenly believing that a middle school classmate had caused the arrest of a friend, a quartet of Florida teenagers exchanged Facebook messages discussing the killing of the suspected “snitch,” according to police.

The students--three 14-year-olds and a 13-year-old--were arrested yesterday at school and charged with aggravated stalking, a felony.

Lee County Sheriff’s Office investigators allege that the death threats were spurred by the arrest of Nicholas Gonzalez, 13, who was nabbed for possession of a firearm on the campus of the North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts. According to a sheriff’s report, immediately after Gonzalez’s January 27 collar, the four students arrested yesterday began exchanging Facebook messages about the bust.

In communications posted to 13-year-old Nichole Cruz’s Facebook page, the students threatened the life of a boy who was suspected of notifying police about Gonzalez carrying a weapon. The boy, whose name police redacted from the probable cause statement, had “no involvement” in Gonzalez’s bust and “in no way participated with law enforcement regarding that incident,” according to investigators.

In light of the Facebook threats (which were discovered by the boy’s mother), the “emotionally distraught” victim told deputies that he was “very afraid to return to school for fear someone would kill him…He stated if one student had already brought a gun to school, what would keep another from bringing a gun to school to kill him.”

As detailed in the sheriff’s report, Cruz--who described Gonzalez as the “love of her life”--first reported to have “Found out who Nick’s snitch is,” and named the boy in a Facebook post. She later wrote, “He ruined my bestfriend’s life! And ima end his!!”

Amber Fredrick, 14, responded, “Oh that little bitch is dead. Just u have to show me who he is first then he is dead.”

Hope Williams, 14, noted, “IMA HELP KILL HIM!! THAT PUNK RUINED OUR LIVES!! HES SOO DEAD!!

And Camren Monroe, 14, chimed in, “Ima kill his ass.”

Cruz, Williams, Monroe, and Fredrick are pictured above, clockwise from upper left, in mug shots taken yesterday. (2 pages)

Comments (42)

Hmm.. So, I've read many um... Articles about this.. >.> It irritates me how you people want to say crap when you don't know the other half of the story. Who am I to say this? Camren. Yeah, the guy in the mug? Absolutely, in the flesh... Well digital. Anywho, I don't appreciate you people hating on me when i never meant it. Now, the other three? No clue. But, I never did. You people think i did, but never did. This entire thing has gone way to far. You don't know how IRRITATING it is to see the same thing on different websites. the entire story, and my transcript or whatever you call it. Another thing that irritates me is the fact that you want to blame the parents. The Parents, Really? How bout you look at your kid. I'm sure ALOT of you aren't great parents. I'm sure, your kids are smoking pot right now or drinking. You know, lots of people say this, If you have nothing nice to say, don't say it... Or type it. Now, how about you guys just blow off and get some lives instead of talking about something that happened like freaking 4 months ago. I see more talk about this than the actual gun case! You people make me sick.
OMIGOSH! THE SAME STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, 20TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, SW FLORIDA, WOULD NOT ARREST AND PROSECUTE THE BOYS WHO LEFT RECORDED VOICEMAIL DEATH THREATS ON ALEX TEEHEE'S VOICEMAIL AND THEN KILLED HIM 2 HOURS LATER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! JUSTICE IS BEING DENIED!! ASK THEM WHY!!! IT'S AGAINST THE LAW TO LEAVE A DEATH THREAT, BUT YOU CAN LEAVE ONE & THEN BEAT & RUN OVER & LEAVE FOR DEAD THE BOY YOU THREATENED, AND GET AWAY WITH IT!!!! ALEX TEEHEE IS BEING DENIED HIS RIGHTS & MURDERERS ROAM FREE IN CHARLOTTE & LEE COUNTY!!! ASK THE CHARLOTTE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ABOUT ONE OF THE BOYS, BECAUSE HIS MOM & BROTHER ARE A DISPATCHER & A DEPUTY THERE!! WHY ARE THEY ARRESTING A FACEBOOK DEATH THREAT IF THEY DIDN'T ARREST A VOICEMAIL DEATH THREAT THAT FOLLOWED THROUGH WITH HIS THREAT & KILLED SOMEONE??? JULY 2008 A YOUNG FATHER KILLED, NO ONE HELD RESPONSIBLE!! IGNORE THE DEATH THREATS! IGNORE THE EVIDENCE! ACT LIKE THIS MURDER DIDN'T HAPPEN! CORRUPT STATE ATTORNEYS! CORRUPTION IN CHARLOTTE & LEE COUNTY FLORIDA!!!! SOMEONE HAS TO STOP IT!! ARREST THESE BOYS BEFORE THEY ACT AGAIN!! ALEX WAS THEIR 2ND VICTIM!!
Shimauma, the only thing you got from this is facebook is bad?..Seriously?..This has nothing to do with facebook. The fact of the matter is facebook may have saved this kids life by bringing the threats to light. The issue is much deeper than facebook. And to be honest being bullied on facebook hurts much less than being bullied in person. Get real and see the real problem..violent kids and what has happened to make them that way. quit looking for something to blame and start looking for solutions to the problems our youth face today.
Right on Thunderbird! After reading Shimauma's comment I question how old she is? Teenage mom perhaps?
...She later wrote, “He ruined my bestfriend’s life!..." Awwwwww... Is your bestfwend's widdle wife wuined? Too bad! Haw-haw! He got what he deserved for bringing a gun to school. The little miscreant belongs in a reform school.
He had a gun at a school for the arts? This "murder" was also planned by students attending this same school? Isn't that sort of a competative education placement? Y'know, one where your parents have to have money and you have to have a talent that qualifies you to attend? I would have loved to have had that sort of privilege as a kid, while these monsters, with a *** up sense of entitlement, behave like this in the face of such wonderful opportunity. The last thing you want to do is send kids like this to reform school, they'd have a cabel of lackeys within a day. Send them to jail where they can learn about the very real concequences of violence, like the permanency of death.
Man those are some ugly people. In times with so much violence amongst teens threats like these have to be taken seriously. Especially since one of the teens had a gun- if that is the 'love of her life' she is obviously uneducated ghetto trash. Who's to say she wouldn't have that boy killed.
the comment Submitted on Sun, 2011-02-06 12:48 "...All the parents in the world could avoid this crap if they would just KEEP THEIR KIDS OFF FACEBOOK!!! My kid doesn't have a facebook account..." --is idiotic and dangerous "advice", and typical of the stupidity and apathy which exacerbates cyberbullying and doesn't help anyone. If the "child's parent" in this case had quote, "KEPT HER KID OFF FACEBOOK! AND" not had an account of her own, she wouldn't have spotted the death threats posted on the alleged assailants' Facebook pages. quote, "...In light of the Facebook threats (which were discovered by the boy’s mother), the “emotionally distraught” victim told deputies that he was “very afraid to return to school for fear someone would kill him..."
The All the parents in the world could avoid this crap if they would just KEEP THEIR KIDS OFF FACEBOOK!!! My kid doesn't have a facebook account. There are kids who are mean in her school, but they can't bully her on facebook, because...SHE DOESN'T HAVE A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT!! heya parents...KEEP YOUR KIDS OFF FACEBOOK!!
These children not having facebook would have made for a happy ending to this little tale, wouldn't it? The young man wouldn't have had this, fortunate, warning and then, had these four been serious, they could have blindsided him and, best case, beat him badly or, worst case, killed him. And you've procreated. Dear Lord.
More young dumb lives ruined over Facebook. When is society gonna tire of this ridiculous replacement for human contact/ Sick this society is becoming, dehumanized by cyber junkies who haven't even lived yet.
My husband and I spent Sunday watching 1970's skateboard films that were made with some of the Zephyr skate team in my home state of California when it was still beautiful and the people weren't total flakes. It left me feeling very sad for the youth of today. How do you disappear from home for a few hours of wonderful, harmless childhood freedom when your parent's have your cell phone number?
This situation is a combination of bad parenting and idiot kids. In the larger context...people often rant and make threats on the Internet while sitting at their keyboard with no intention of actually taking action. Alas, some threats are real. How do you tell the real threats from the idiotic ranting? Ah...there is the rub.
Bwahaha. Her idiot boyfriend bought a gun to _school_, and he's the love of her life? She's only 14, and he's the love of her life? One incorrectly assumed their lives were ruined based on gossip (he made the choice to bring the gun, Dear), yet they set out to ruin their lives on their own. Snicker! Many teens aren't well known for seeing the bigger picture, but these 4 are at the bottom of the barrel in that capacity. I'm glad the gun fool didn't use the gun on anyone else. He's lucky he didn't accidentally shoot his own face off, or that of his "love of my life" girlfriend. If their parents are worth anything, they will delete their kid's FB accounts, & do what they can to keep their kids off FB until age 18. Yes, it's hard, & they kids will probably try to sneak, but being a responsible parent means you do the best you can to try to thwart it. If parents don't have time to check a kid's FB account daily, then kids don't belong on FB. Password home computers except for homework use, and take internet capacity off their cell phones. Next we'll hear the girls are pregnant at age 15, with babies who will further the Darwin Awards pool. "Love of my life" girl will be first. With luck, the other kids at school will see these boneheads for what they are, not praise them.
I teach in a middle school. On a weekly basis there are Facebook issues that we have to deal with. Intimidation, threats, and bullying. Just two weeks ago I had a student who was afraid to come to school, and afraid to walk in the halls without a teacher or security beside her. While Facebook in and of itself is not a school issue, the threats and intimidation and bullying that carry over to school, are school issues. To those of you who don't see the teens in this article as having leveled a threat, or intimidation or bullying, how would you handle the situation?
I actually see nothing wrong here. If these were 4 blacks or 4 muslims surely things would of been handled differently. To turn the table on the mommy state we have isn't government partially responsible for things like this? We're told guns are the problem when guns are used in crimes by criminals and that's gone as far as gun manufacturers being sued. Did government not subsidize cable boxes so that people can watch television and aren't people murdered on television? Isn't the same government on a horse if someone on radio says a dirty word yet we have murder on television all the time. Why not sue the fcc for allowing murder to be a common everyday thing on television? Why not fine the government everytime we're able to watch a 'hit' go out on a cable television show. The media got their fill in this one; 4 white kids. The only thing that would of made it even better is if the 'victim' was a 'minority'; which at this time I don't know or care about. So if they committed a crime punish them for the crime. It doesn't need to be a national case.
Hope they see their mugs on this website.
LOL! it will give these little ---wipes street cred!
I don't know the laws of the state in question, but this does not look like a threat. I see no indication of intent to terrorize of intimidate. Rather they were chatting among themselves. If, and this a huge "if," the declarants actually intended to go through with what they were talking about then we may possibly have a conspiracy to commit murder. Did they actually intend to act on their angry words? Were there any overt acts in furtherance of the supposed conspiracy? I doubt it..
The article states they posted the threats to their Facebook pages, & the mother of the threatened boy discovered the posts. That's not chatting amongst themselves through email, texts or a chat room where no one else could see the threats. There is a way to filter FB posts so that only certain people on your friends list will see certain posts, but again, this mother discovered the posts. Simple.
Take these four little dirtbags and deport them to Iraq. They can grow up there to become grown up dirtbags or road kill. Enough with coddling evil beings of all types and ages, this county will be better without them. Let us not forget to ship off they fine parents as well.
These precious darlings look like riders on the Clark County (NV) Ho Train.
Do a google image search for a picture of David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust era, then compare to the redhead.
Note to self: if you're going to commit a felony by making death threats, first corroborate the facts.
Another black eye for America's wang...
And to think I wanted to retire to Florida.
Rocky Rac*** went in to his room only to find Gideons Bible.
Whatever happened to parents being responsible for there kids. Are we so resolved that we have lost control of our kids. It is not the educational system,or governments job to raise them.We need to take back control of our children from D.F.S. (ETC). A good ass whipping never hurt anyone long. I am not advocating brutal beatings etc., but when a child stands up in your face and threatens to call child abuse just because they are mad at you. This happened to a friend of mine,and I know there was no abuse. His son even later said it didn't happen. Even though his son recanted his story my friend was on probation for three years. Monthly visits with the D.F.S. yeah.If their parents would have given them spankings when they were little and needed them. Also to instill some morals and integrity, but they cannot spell the words let alone know what they mean.
Let's be clear. If these kids did what they say was done, they need to serve time and pay the price. Adult time or juvenile time. Stupidity is NOT an excuse. Being *W* trash is not an excuse either. And it's GONNA happen But WHY are WE seeing their pictures? WHY are WE seeing their names? They are ***in' 14 years old! Even if innocent, they can't recover from this display of their vitals for the rest of their lives! Somebody is part of the problem, not the solution. Three folk need to be SUED... 1. the people in the police/school department who made their names/pictures available. 2. The folk that published names/pictures in a pubic newspaper. 3. The people that posted on the internet with the excuse that this is public information. They should have known better. Note: details could have been stated without pictures and names and we could STILL laugh and cry about it. What if it was B trash? 'nuff said.
Obviously they're being tried as adults, dumbass.
Let's all be a bit more caring and considerate of these youthful, zit faced, dark eyed, escapees from a condom. Remember, they will eventually be responsible for funding our social security checks. OMG, I weep for the future.
'nuff said
I now know that sunshine truly is the best disinfectant after viewing these mug shots.
I'm wondering what the Sunshine State takes under consideration when they decide what defines a school for the arts. Obviously, it's based on a low curve. A very low curve. And red pouf hair AND rac*** eyes? I think a follow up story in about ten years featuring photos of the tattoos that they accumulate in the meantime would be great. Life may have been better for them if they had grown up near the front of the trailer park instead of the back row. Or maybe not.
I've been wondering for some time now if the Sunshine State is some sort of malevolent social experiment? The darndest stories seem to come out of Florida on too consistent a basis to be coincidence.
Wow, Welcome to Florida, the World's Largest Trailer Park.
As an alien, I resent that comment.
Minor correction: Gonzalez, born 21 Feb 1997, was 13 at the time of his arrest, not 14.
These four are students at a School for the Arts?? They look more like something that escaped from a Juvie Detention Center. I haven't seen eyes that black since my last Rac*** sighting. You gotta love their "tough guy" talk, "ima end his"???? Cripe, one of these rocket scientists was going to kill the guy, "as soon as he finds out who he is first". Here's an idea kiddies, spend a little more time in class paying attention and a little less on the "social" network. As a final item, where the H*** are this little "princess's" parents? She's 14 and has "a love of her life" that brings weapons to school. Not guessing they will be up for Parents of the Year.
Damn look at those 4 ugly bastards. It's no wonder why they're so angry
I think the redhead is an alien.
Did using 25% of just one Walmart eyeliner pencil create the illusion of alien eyes, or did it just highlight the already crazy alien eyes? We will never know. However, one can bet the several minutes it took to cake it on, & then gaze at herself in the mirror to admire her work, could have been spent on something much more worthwhile. I would have a hard time not cracking up, if my kid came out of the bathroom looking like that.