Update as of Nov. 8: Gillespie pleaded not guilty in court Monday according to Sandra Coddington, Judge Becky Doherty’s bailiff. He appeared in court over Zoom and is not in jail. A discovery hearing, where the prosecutor will turn over evidence, is scheduled for Nov. 29. A pre-jury trial is set for Jan. 4, and a jury trial will be Jan. 23.
A grand jury indicted 18-year-old Meier Gillespie on charges of terroristic threats Friday morning after he threatened to “blow up” Kent Roosevelt High School in a social media post Oct. 26.
Gillespie, a graduate of Roosevelt High School, is charged a third-degree felony of one count of making a terroristic threat. According to court documents, he is not allowed on Kent City School properties.
After Gillespie made the post on social media, the FBI reached out to the Kent Police Department, said Michael Lewis, a Kent Police administrative lieutenant.
On Oct. 26, Lewis said the “pretty vague” threat was reported to his department shortly after 1 p.m. The school was not sent into lockdown since Gillespie was found outside the City of Kent.
Gillespie had made a previous threat to the school before, Lewis said, but those did not receive much attention.
“He had made this post once before last year, and he didn’t get a reaction from it or he didn’t get a response,” Lewis said. “Since he got away with it the first time, he thought he would get away with it the second time.”
Lewis said Gillespie claimed to have made these threats as a joke.
“Because of the nature of the threat but also the number or amount of resources that’s involved, it’s no joking matter,” Lewis said. “We take the safety of our children very, very seriously.”
Gillespie’s entry charge was dismissed on the motion of the Prosecutor, Samantha Ulrich, which led to his grand jury indictment, according to court documents.
Gillespie did not go into the courtroom for his preliminary trial but rather signed the paperwork regarding his indictment of making a terroristic threat, which is a third degree felony, a Kent Municipal Courthouse police officer said.
According to court documents, Gillespie’s bond is being transferred and is continued from the Municipal Court in the amount of $150,000.
Gillespie is set to appear for arraignment in the Ravenna Courthouse before Judge Becky Doherty at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
Adriana Gasiewski is a staff reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
