YHS locks down after threat; student arrested

Incident lasts at Yosemite High for roughly two hours Tuesday

By David Richards / And Denise Aday

(Updated: Friday, April 25, 2008, 5:19 PM)

An 18-year-old Yosemite High School student was arrested Tuesday following nearly two hours of lock-down status on the 100-acre YHS campus.

Erica Stuart, public information officer with the Madera County Sheriff's Department, identified the student as Joshua John Mark Pero.

Sheriff John Anderson said a call was made from a YHS pay phone to Sierra Telephone at around 11 a.m. The caller said he was depressed and later mentioned he had a gun.

The campus lock down began shortly thereafter and continued until roughly 12:45 p.m.

During the lock down, deputies, aided by the California Highway Patrol, searched the campus for the person who made the call, while parents were not allowed on school grounds.

"My wife is freaking out," said Ken Schatzle, a parent who was waiting at the school for more information.

Stuart said that at around noon, Sgt. Matt Mollet reported that he had a student in custody.

Seniors were let off campus at around 12:45 p.m., while undergraduates were let go at 1:20 p.m.

YHS officials called a 2 p.m. staff meeting, and all activities and sporting events remained as scheduled.

"Both our students and staff responded appropriately," said Steve Raupp, over the campus PA system after the lock down was over. "I want to thank everyone for their cooperation."

Sheriff Anderson confirmed no weapon was found.

Raupp later said that "no other students were involved" in the incident.

"The sheriff's department did a great job," he said.

Parents were notified by cell phone and text message about the incident via recording by Raupp.

School officials stated that YHS and Yosemite Unified School District school safety staff had recently participated in a table-top disaster response drill that was of tremendous value during the event and added that students were in the process of taking California Standards Tests when the lock down was initiated. Seniors, who do not take the tests, were on campus for a meeting about graduation.

Anderson said that his department doesn't take this type of phone call lightly.

"You can't," he said. "You hear about these things all the time, and sometimes they turn out to be disasters."

Stuart said Pero is accused of making a bogus call and has been arrested on the charge of threatening crime with intent to terrorize.

His bail is set at $25,000.