PA Man Made Hoax Threat Toward Ohio School, Sentenced To Prison

CLEVELAND — A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to 18 in prison for making a school shooting threat toward Parma High. He has also been ordered to pay for Parma police's overtime hours, used during the investigation into the threat.

“Posting threats to disrupt a school day is unlawful conduct under any circumstances, but especially where, like here, the defendant was in another state and then lied about his conduct to law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman. “Ensuring the safety of students, faculty, and school employees is a top priority for law enforcement in Northern Ohio. This defendant deserves every day of this 18 month sentence of imprisonment.”

Russell Delano Miley-Cruz, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, sent a Snapchat message in April 2018 saying he was told a group of people were planning to "shoot up" Parma High School. According to evidence presented by prosecutors, Miley-Cruz sent the message to a student at Parma High and told them to avoid going to class the next day.

Miley-Cruz then told the student to warn their friends about the impending shooting. He sent multiple messages urging the student to tell her friends because it could "save lives." The threat spread quickly among students at Parma High.

The day after the Snapchat was sent, about 1,200 students were absent from Parma High. Only 340 students went to school that day, prosecutors said. No shooting occurred and police learned of the shooting threat.

The FBI and Parma police investigated the origin of the threat. They traced the Snapchat to Miley-Cruz and learned, before he told the student about the threat, he set up an account allowing him to send encrypted communications. He also installed an app which allowed him to manipulate his caller ID.

He then searched, "How to share other people's snaps" and read the same article on the topic three times in three hours, prosecutors said. He then installed an application which deletes a phone's internet search history. He then searched for apps which might delete Snapchat messages.

When talking with Parma police, Miley-Cruz gave officers a fake phone number, said he did not know anyone who lived in Parma and said he did not know anything about a school shooting threat, prosecutors said.

Minutes after talking with detectives, Miley-Cruz called Parma police and said he had recorded another school shooting threat. The threat came from a fake phone number, prosecutors said.

Finally, Miley-Cruz created a fake Facebook account, modeled on an actual Parma High student. He then started commenting on local media stories, taking credit for the school shooting threat, prosecutors said.

Investigators saw through the ruse and took Miley-Cruz into custody, prosecutors said.

“Making threats to commit a school shooting are not taken lightly by law enforcement as evidenced by this sentence handed down today,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Smith. “Miley-Cruz induced fear in school personnel, students and their parents at Parma High School and wasted valuable law enforcement resources, and then he lied about being involved. Law enforcement would like to remind people to #thinkbeforeyoupost, hoax threats will be prosecuted.”

The FBI, Parma police and Scranton police investigated Miley-Cruz and charged him with transmitting a school shooting threat.