JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — The Jasper County prosecutor will defer prosecution against a man suspected of making a threat in 2012 that prompted a lockdown of Joplin schools.
Twenty-three-year-old Keefe Rearrick was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on charges of making a terrorist threat Wednesday. Instead, Assistant Prosecutor Kimberly Fisher said prosecution was deferred for two more years, with Rearrick required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and follow recommended treatment.
Rearrick is accused of posting a threatening note on his Facebook page in September 2012. The Joplin Globe reports (http://bit.ly/1lIQHeN ) a police detective who looked at the site a few days later found other content that raised concerns.
Police were concerned enough to call Superintendent C.J. Huff, who ordered a lockdown of all the Joplin public schools for about 1½ hours in October 2012.