Body cam shows police talking to teen accused in Mariemont plot. What we know now

Body camera footage released by the Fairfax Police Department shows a conversation between officers and a teen accused of making a hit list and planning to attack his high school.

The 14-year-old Mariemont High School freshman is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, a rare charge for those who make school threats. He was arrested at Mariemont High School on the same day the encounter with officers took place.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers released texts between the teen and an adult in Colorado that discuss killing students and gassing the school at a press conference Feb. 8 and said evidence shows the attack was imminent.

Police said the teen admitted to making the plan in an interview that took place with the teen's father present.

Powers wants to try the teen as an adult, which would put life in prison on the table as a possible penalty.

In another rare move, Hamilton County's Public Defenders Office issued a statement saying the teen was on the autism spectrum and had other "mental health challenges," and that trying him as an adult would be "against everyone's interest" and not help public safety.

Despite the multiple statements and a press conference, there are still more questions that have not been answered, including:

• What is happening to the man in Colorado?

• Why was the student communicating with the Colorado man?

• What made prosecutors believe that the threat would be carried out?

• How will the teen's diagnosis be considered?

What's in the body camera footage?

Two police officers met with the father of the teen on his front step just before 8 a.m. on Feb. 7. The father said he had heard rumors about a threat to the school the previous day.

He told the officers his son had been complaining about another student who was bullying him and others, and that his advice was: "Stay away from that kid."

The officers said an anonymous report was made saying the teen was going to "get some gun and go shoot up the school."

The father said his son often does not know how to interpret conversations with other students.

"He misses social cues in conversation," the man said. "Irony files over his head."

The teen walked out with his backpack and the police offered him the same advice as his father, to stay away from the other student causing problems and to talk to the school officials if he has any issues.

The teen recounted a conversation with another student in the library.

"He said he had an OnlyFans," the teen said. "He said something about doing a school shooting with some dude in Chicago."

The teen's father told his son that this is how quickly rumors are shared – there was a conversation in a library and 12 hours later the police were at their door.

The officers said that the officials at the school were going to talk to the teen and sent him and his father on their way to school.

During the conversation, the father admitted that he had a gun in the house and asked if he should remove it from the home until things settled down. One of the officers said that sounded like a good idea. The father asked the officers if they would hold it for him and they agreed.

More evidence

The Enquirer asked the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office about the severity of the charge the teen is facing. It is common for those who make school threats to be charged with inducing panic or aggravated menacing.

Hamilton County Juvenile Court officials reported that their records show this is the only time the charge has been used since at least the beginning of 2020.

The prosecutor's office issued the following statement:

“We are working with law enforcement as the investigation in this matter continues. While limited evidence has been released to the public for the purpose of conveying the seriousness of the situation, it does not represent the full extent of evidence we anticipate presenting to the court in this case. To preserve the integrity of the investigation and forthcoming litigation, we do not have any further comment we can offer at this time.”

Investigation into Colorado man is ongoing

Media outlets have reported that the FBI investigated the man in Colorado who was communicating with the teen, but no charges have come at the federal level.

However, Mariemont Police Chief Rick Hines said the investigation into that man is still occurring at the local level.

If it is determined the man has committed a crime, he could be charged at the county level either in Hamilton County or another county where he was communicating with the teen.

The public defender's office said the teen was a victim of this man's "predatory behavior."

What's next

The teen remains detained at the Hamilton County Youth Center pending his next hearing Feb. 21 in juvenile court.

In order to transfer the case to adult court, prosecutors need to file motions for a bindover hearing.

If a juvenile is charged with certain serious offenses, such as murder, and if the juvenile is 16, bindover can be mandatory. In this case, the juvenile court judge will decide if the teen should be sent to adult court.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Mariemont school threat: What we know now