CHAMPION Teen-ager who brought explosives to school sentenced
The teen apologized to the court and the community.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- It will be at least a year before a 17-year-old Champion teen is free again.
Magistrate Monte Horton sentenced Timothy Ben Cook to Trumbull County Juvenile Court on Tuesday to six months confinement on one charge each of delinquency by way of assault on a school administrator and by way of unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance.
Cook pleaded guilty in February.
Horton noted Cook can be held in juvenile detention until he is 21 if he does not behave during his time in the custody of the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
Court scene: Cook, dressed in gray and white overalls of the juvenile system, apologized to the court and the community.
"I'm sorry for what I did and for the lives I endangered," he told the court. "While I have been in jail, I have been able to spend a lot of time reflecting on my life. I know I was hanging around bad people and I now know how much I love my parents."
Atty. Maridee Costanzo, who represents Cook, said she hopes her client will spend his incarceration becoming rehabilitated.
"Each day, thousands of parents in Trumbull County send their children to school and they pray they will come back safe," Magistrate Horton said. "I know no students were hurt, but this scared a lot of people.
"I wish you the best of luck. Sometimes kids do stupid things, and I hope you learned from [your mistake]."
Magistrate Horton also fined the teen $250.
Cook was allowed to hug his parents before he was taken back to detention.
What happened: The teen-ager brought explosives to school Feb. 14. Champion police said the youth told them he planned to set off the explosives after school. A struggle took place between the teen and an assistant principal.
Costanzo declined to say why her client brought the explosives to school.
Police Chief Dennis Steinbeck has declined to specify the explosives, but said they were equivalent to two sticks of dynamite.
Authorities said Cook and a 16-year-old friend took an explosive material from Cook's father's garage. The mother of Cook's friend found it in the trunk of her car and called police.
Father: Cook's father, Timothy, has pleaded innocent to a charge of possession of a dangerous ordnance. He is free on a $750 bond pending court proceedings.
Police say Timothy Cook used to work in coal mines and had explosives stored in his garage. He told authorities he didn't know they were still there.