Castle Rock – The junior who set off a small explosive device Friday near Ponderosa High School in Parker posed no threat and intended no harm, his lawyer said Tuesday, adding that the teen has never been in trouble with the law.
“My client is not another Klebold and Harris,” Robert Wareham said after bail was set, referring to the Columbine shooters. “He’s a nice, young kid.”
Chemicals to make another device were found in the boy’s backpack when the school resource officer questioned him.
Magistrate Louis Gresh set bail at $25,000. The 17-year-old, who is not named because he is a juvenile, will be formally charged May 8.
Cocha Heyden, a spokeswoman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, said the chemicals were typical household cleaning products. Wareham said the device involved a soda bottle and characterized it as minor.
“If you shake up a pop, it becomes an explosive device,” he said.
Friday, on the eighth anniversary of the Columbine shootings, authorities evacuated and searched the school after discovering the student had supplies in his backpack to make another device.
The boy has been held at the Marvin W. Foote Youth Services Center while the Sheriff’s Office has investigated charges of possession or use of explosives and unlawful possession of a weapon on school grounds, both felonies, and interference with school staff, a misdemeanor.
The family moved to Parker, near the school, from New Mexico about a year ago, their lawyer said. “He was oblivious to the significance of the day,” Wareham said.
Staff writer Joey Bunch can be reached at 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com.
