Teens jailed on anthrax hoax

South Brunswick boys crush candy in an attempt to cancel school.

By: Nick D’Amore
   Two South Brunswick High School students were charged Monday with creating an anthrax hoax at the school during dismissal on Monday.
   Patrol Officer Jim Ryan, police spokesman, said two boys, age 14 and 15, crushed Altoids mints into a folded note and then wrote "Anthrax" on the inside and "Open" on the outside of the note.
   The note was placed in the office of the vice principal of the ninth and 10th grades office on the third floor of the high school as the two were leaving for dismissal, Officer Ryan said.
   "They were hoping to close school Tuesday or cause an evacuation," he said.
   He said the note was sent to the state Department of Health as part of normal procedure.
   Officer Ryan said interviews with staff members and students revealed that the two boys had been planning the hoax for a couple hours.
   The boys are being held at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center and are charged with causing false public alarm.
   They had a hearing Tuesday in Middlesex County Family Court. As a result, they will be held in the detention center until Nov. 8, when they will have another hearing at Family Court.
   Officer Ryan said the crime is a third-degree crime and would be punishable by three years in prison, if they were adults. He said he was not sure what the penalty is for juveniles.
   Superintendent Sam Stewart said the boys will be suspended from school within the maximum extent of the law.
   "Then we will have a hearing and they will likely be removed from school," said Dr. Stewart.
   "These are times of great anxiety and the people of South Brunswick have been rallying around one another in a beautiful way. We can’t tolerate nonsense such as this."