Josiah Leach, 18, will be confined to the South Burlington home at all times except for medical appointments, meetings with his lawyer or for legal proceedings, and if granted permission to leave by his probation officer, U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss ruled.
Leach, who faces a five-year maximum sentence on a charge of threatening by means of interstate commerce, must wear a GPS-monitored ankle bracelet and cannot have contact with any students, visit district schools, or use a computer.
During the federal court hearing in Burlington, Reiss rejected a prosecutor’s argument that the teen is too dangerous to let live in the community. Though Leach is accused of threatening to kill his classmates and school staff, the judge noted that there is no evidence that he intended to carry out the threats.
“There was no intent to injure, or preparations to do so,” Reiss said.
The hearing, meanwhile, provided a few more details about Leach’s background and the investigation into his multiple threats — including a kill list he allegedly published online — that prompted days of school lockdowns and inflamed a community bitterly divided by a debate about the school’s mascot.
Leach told authorities that he “felt his life was over” and felt “he had been treated as a joke and he wanted the community to feel as he felt,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Drescher told the court.
Leach does not have any criminal convictions, but did serve two stints on juvenile probation for undisclosed offenses. During the hearing, attorneys revealed that the teen had also been both a suspect and a victim in fights, recently pulled a fire alarm at school, and had run away from home several times.
Leach, who has spent his entire life in Burlington and South Burlington, suffers from anxiety, depression and other mental health woes, and had an abusive father, his attorney Elizabeth Quinn said during the hearing.
“Putting him in jail doesn’t seem like it would help with that concern,” Quinn said of her client’s mental health struggles. “Mr. Leach is an 18-year-old kid. I understand he is a legal adult, but he is a kid, he is a student in that school.”
“This was not a single, one-off mistake of a young teenage man,” Drescher said. “This was fully contemplated, several steps in its execution, several steps of turning up threats.”
Drescher also revealed new details about the bizarre video Leach allegedly posted online. The young man in the video has his face blurred but appears to be white. Leach is African American. A computer-generated voice read from a “murder list” that named specific students and school staff . The person claimed that the killings would be retribution for the school board’s decision to drop the Rebel nickname.
Drescher said Leach pulled a video off YouTube and edited it with a voice over in an attempt to throw the police off his trail. After his arrest, Drescher said Leach claimed the video proved that he was not the culprit. He also allegedly put his own name on the kill list as part of the subterfuge.
Wearing a hunter green prison uniform, Leach showed no emotion during the hearing and did not look at his mother and brother, both of whom were watching from the gallery. After his release, Leach and his family members declined to comment as they left the downtown Burlington courthouse.
South Burlington Police Chief Trevor Whipple, who attended the hearing, said afterwards that he was “disappointed” by the judge’s decision to release Leach. But Whipple said he was not concerned for his community’s safety.
“I have faith in those in charge of monitoring him,” Whipple said. “I trust the system.”
Leach is scheduled to return to court on May 12.
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Until this article I had no idea the suspect was black . 7Days has previously posted multiple times on this story . Why wasn’t this mentioned . Is it because it would spoil the narrative ? Is it because this wasn’t seen as pertinent ? Ever wonder why people mistrust the media .
Hi @Rich ard. Just wanted to point out to you that every story, except for the first one announcing the arrest, has mentioned Leach’s race. There’s even this line from the story you just commented on: “Leach is African American.”
Here are the other examples:
“Leach, who is African American, is accused of making racially charged death threats in a widely circulated video that sent chills through the city.”
https://sevendaysvt-test.newspackstaging.com/OffMessage/arc…
“The teen, who is African American, allegedly made eight threats last week to kill students and staff in retaliation for the racially charged decision to drop the high school’s Rebels nickname.”
https://sevendaysvt-test.newspackstaging.com/OffMessage/arc…
“Leach, who is African American, allegedly issued a kill list of specific teachers and students.”
https://sevendaysvt-test.newspackstaging.com/OffMessage/arc…
Unfortunately by releasing Mr Leach we are all in danger. An angry young man who made death threats and terrorized a community is free in his mother’s custody. The same mother that was probably too frightened to supervise him all the years he has been getting in trouble. I don’t buy his lawyer and the judge’s theory that they didn’t find any weapons hence he meant no harm. Next time he will kill, now that he has tasted the power of creating fear in a whole community.
“must wear a GPS-monitored ankle bracelet and cannot have contact with any students, visit district schools, or use a computer.” Been known that GPS bracelets have been slipped off, and computers being used when told not to..Also the story of that he “felt his life was over” and felt “he had been treated as a joke and he wanted the community to feel as he felt, and suffers from anxiety, depression and other mental health woes, and had an abusive father,..I know people who were depressed, were abused but they didn’t threaten to kill people..the defense lawyer is pulling the ” feel sorry for this sweet innocent little kid”..that’s what’s wrong with this country, not making these people accountable for their actions..A slap on the wrist and saying “now now don’t do that anymore” He knew what he was doing, he’s not a KID, he had it all planned out..