Angela Timmons, 54, an employee at Virginia College in South Carolina, appears to have carried out an April Fools’ Day prank that few in her family will soon forget. Timmons, 54, send an email to her daughter that there was a gunman on the loose at the school and the daughter called police — triggering a massive response. It was a stupid prank. However, the range of charges against Timmons is a bit disconcerting.
Timmons worked at the Virginia College in South Carolina and sent the email to April Timmons, 34, that a shooter was on the loose. April called police from New York and Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright went into full crisis mode. He soon discovered it was a prank. Timmons admitted to her daughter that it was a joke and the daughter called 911, stating “Oh my goodness. She’s saying she’s playing an April Fools’ joke. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, sir.”
Timmons had never done anything like this in the past. However, she was hit by criminal charge even though she never called officials. It was not a classic hoax in that sense where someone had the intent to cause panic in the public.
Timmons was charged with one count of aggravated breach of peace, one count of disturbing a school and two counts of unlawful use of a telephone. Prosecutors often over-charge crimes to force people to accept a plea bargain (a practice that I have long criticized but one that is openly acknowledged as a way to coerce plea agreements). Even if Timmons should be criminally charged, it is problematic to see the same conduct charged repeatedly in different ways. The phone line was the vehicle for the first two charges and it is then the based for two other charges. The courts have allowed such proliferation of counts, which allow prosecutors stack counts and extend potential sentences.
Timmons is likely to be fired for the prank and she is likely to have trouble in later employment after this bone headed move. Is it appropriate to charge her with multiple crimes when she did not intend to cause public panic and only sent the note to her daughter?
Source: Metro Crime
Human life is a crime that always ends up with a death penalty sentence that is always carried out?
david’s knee jerk response to any authority other than himself and god, in that order, is as predictable as the phases of the moon.
First of all, this was a 34 year old woman, not a 14 year old girl, who called 911; I think authorities could be excused for taking her seriously.
And why, in a possible emergency situation where seconds may count, would anyone think it’s a good policy to delay responsive action for however many moments it takes to track down mommy?
i recall David parroting the NRA line about the police being minutes away. Which begs the question about why he would want to increase the time before help arrives? Is it because another mass shooting makes the police look incapable of protecting human lives and help bring about his dream of an armed society?
This woman may be overcharged but she needs to be prosecuted. Not a bad mugshot. I’ve seen worse glam shots.
I agree with AY, Waldo, and the others who rightly say that charging this woman is foolish. Just call the school and do the bare minimum assessment. Timmons sent an email to her daughter (a really dumb joke but not criminal) that lacked the intent to cause panic/fear.
Yet another over-reaction by the authorities that seems to always result in the citizen (unless wealthy) being made to suffer.
This would be handled differently in a society that was not addicted to criminalizing everything…. #PrisonWorldakaAmerica She should have her hand slapped… maybe fired ….. the police over-reacted as usual
Prosecutors often over-charge crimes to force people to accept a plea bargain (a practice that I have long criticized but one that is openly acknowledged as a way to coerce plea agreements).
The practice of overcharging people with crimes in order to coerce them into accepting a plea bargain smacks of Soviet style justice being alive an well in the USA today.
I just don’t see what gets accomplished by charging her. The state spends a ton of money on the legal process and, if convicted, jail and/or probation. She’s no risk to repeat this behavior, so there’s no specific deterrence. There’s been no one injured, so there’s no retributive penalogical purpose served. She’s not some criminal that needs to be rehabilitated but is working and being a productive member of society. The only point is general deterrence for those who hear about this and might otherwise do something similar but for hearing how hard the state is coming down on her. That seems highly questionable causation wise and too speculative for me to want to ruin a person’s life and spend a ton of taxpayer money just for one stupid act.
Humor is indeed subjective. I bet this woman is a Carrot Top fan.
It seems to me that it should be standard procedure to say, “where did you get this information? Your mother? What is her phone number? Got it. I will call her now.”
The stupidity here are the officials not this mother. If they charge the mother with anything, they should also charge the responders for not going to the source of the information.
What rafflaw said.
I agree that what this woman did was criminal(and very stupid), but as Darren and Prof. Turley suggested, the stacking of charges is abusive.
AY;
You are actually (in this day & age) making the assumption that our Police and systems of justice – ARE required to be Professionals!
Talk about assuming facts not (almost ever/never) in evidence.
Come on…. A little over reaction on the department ….. I guess no one has to check the veracity of the information anymore….. A simple call to the schools security could have shut this down or verified the same…..
It was stupid but she shouldn’t go to prison for it or be fired–not in today’s economy. Why should further stupidity and cruelty be added to hers?
April fool.
Not sure about the overcharging but the stupidity is (almost) beyond comment.
The only thing that is criminal is our criminal injustice system.
This is why ALL students should have a High School course in Legal Semantics & Protocols – 101
Every person should be aware of intent to sell, intent to buy, contract of sale and bill of sale dynamics (it would free our court’s from much ado about nothing to gain).
Then this party might have realized the gravity of her indifference.
I agree a criminal charge was warranted but this does appear to be a stacking of the charges. The telling of another person of an active shooter can be construed as notifying a dispatch center of the same crime, though certainly at a little less seriousness level.
Once again, we see that prosecutors have become among the most powerful public officials.
They have the power to destroy lives, and conversely they have the power to excuse egregious behavior if they (the prosecutors) perceive some advantage.