Student accused of threatening to 'shoot up' East High Schools pleads not guilty

CHEYENNE — The 18-year-old who allegedly threatened to "shoot up" Cheyenne's East High School on Sept. 26 pleaded not guilty Thursday to a felony charge of making terroristic threats.

Tyler Bathke and his family have posted a cash bond of $2,000 twice, with the first bond returned to them when his case was bound over to district court.

Bathke requested that his bail be reduced so that some of the funds could be returned to his family; public defender Jason Chaulk argued that he has no adult criminal record. The state countered that argument saying that Bathke has a serious juvenile record, which he had to return to Colorado to address after these charges were made.

District Judge Catherine Rogers didn't grant Bathke's request to reduce bail. She offered the family the option to change their bail to cash surety, meaning that the defendant would only pay a percentage of the bond and would receive the remainder back, but the percentage paid would never be reimbursed.

Rogers noted that the bond is not only to ensure appearances by Bathke in court, but to protect the public. Bathke's bond requirements restrict him from any further legal violations with the exception of minor traffic offenses, require him to appear and keep the court informed of his whereabouts, and restrict him from coming into contact with East High School or possessing a firearm.

On Sept. 26, Bathke was reported to an East High school resource officer (SRO) for being in possession of a firearm and threatening to "shoot up" the school. East consequently went into lockdown until Bathke was found without a weapon.

According to court documents, Bathke allegedly had made several concerning statements to other students, including one that indicated a school shooting was going to occur.

During Bathke's preliminary hearing, SRO Mike Fernandez told the court that Bathke confirmed to him that he had claimed to have a firearm, but was "joking," and that he often makes these types of jokes.

Bathke was found to have a paper gun, which Fernandez described to the court as a three-dimensional model made of lined notebook paper.

According to court documents, he claimed to have made the paper gun the night before the incident, telling officers that he had never told anyone he was serious about having a gun.

Officers verified that threatening statements were made. Due to the disruptive nature of this incident, including the panic created within the school, officers applied for an arrest warrant for Bathke the following day.

Prior to his arraignment Thursday, Bathke was extradited to Weld County, Colorado, on felony charges of failure to comply with his probation.

Bathke was on probation for charges of sexual abuse of a child in Colorado, which happened when he was a minor. His probation would have been finished in November, according to Weld County officials. He is not a registered sex offender in Wyoming or Colorado.

Bathke's trial in Cheyenne was set for Feb. 18.