Two Teens Arrested in Shooting Hoax

Published: Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 7:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 7:30 a.m.

WINTER HAVEN - The voice crackled over a two-way radio at Winter Haven High School: Someone's been shot. Call an ambulance.

It was a hoax, and on Saturday police announced they had made two arrests in the case, which led to an intense room-by-room search of the campus buildings Friday and drew a small army of law enforcement was the work of two teenagers.

A police department release said Mathew Taylor Sowell, 17, who once attended the school but now goes to a program for dropouts, sent the message Friday afternoon using a radio that disappeared from the campus in the past week. Then he threw the device into a lake.

Keegan Hamlett, 16, was with Sowell when he made the call, the release said.

The boys were arrested Friday night on charges that include tampering with evidence, a felony, criminal mischief and disruption of a school function, according to the release.

The static-filled message about the shooting went out about 3 p.m. Friday. Workers thought the voice belonged to a faculty member and called 911. The school, still buzzing with students after classes, was locked down for more than two hours while officers searched.

After determining the school was safe, detectives received a tip that pointed to Sowell as the culprit, the release said, and officers went to the home at 120 Lincoln Road in Winter Haven where Sowell and Hamlett live.

Sowell returned there about 7 p.m., breaking a curfew required by his probation on unrelated charges, according to the release. He was arrested on a probation violation charge and taken to Winter Haven police headquarters.

During an interview, police said he confessed to sending the radio message, according to the release. Hamlett was found at the Spring Lake Square shopping center in Winter Haven and arrested.

Officers searched several bodies of water Saturday where they think the stolen school radio may have been dumped.

Police are investigating whether more are involved in the hoax and may make more arrests, said Jamie Brown, the Winter Haven police spokeswoman.

The hoax brought an enormous response by law enforcement. As many as 40 police vehicles arrived on campus when the call went out. A helicopter hovered over the campus during the search. Police dogs and firefighters stood at the ready.

Had the emergency been real, Brown said, all the resources would have been necessary.

The hoax also exacted an emotional toll. As police searched, panicked parents arrived on campus, worried for their children, Brown said. Reports of the incident conjured images of recent campus shootings that were all too real.

"We're going to do everything in our power to bring this to justice," Brown said.

news@newschief.com

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What's Up With Gaga? - EMA Nominations

on.fb.me - Facebook Fan Page! bit.ly - Click to Subscribe to ClevverMusic! Hey little monsters! I'm Bridget Daly for ClevverMusic with another installment of What's Up With Gaga. Huge week for Mother Monster! First off, she is the most nominated artist for the upcoming MTV Europe Music Awards being held in Belfast on November 6th. She beat out Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars with 6 nods, including Best Female, Best Video, and Best Fans. Aww, give yourself a little pat on the back for that one. Gaga's next headline this week was not a humorous one! Some cyber nerds decided to create a Gaga death hoax that linked up to people's Facebook pages. But no one really bought it anyway, since we all saw the pics of her at the Giants game the night she allegedly "died" in her hotel room. Which brings me to my next story! Gaga showed her New York pride by attending the Giants Rams game Monday night and even donned a blue cap to show her team spirit. And it looks like she definitely had a good time, since a photo of her was snapped as she spilled some champagne over the railing of where she was sitting! Let's hope there was no one sitting in that section! One of the Gaga highlights this week was definitely has new fashion video she unveiled which stars Yuyi, the smoking mermaid! The next film will premiere next week at Paris Fashion Week during Mugler's women's wear show, and a new remix of one of Gaga's songs will accompany it! And lastly, Gaga pledged this week to meet with ...

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