Jahnathan M. Dooley: High School Student’s Bomb Plan Thwarted
On Friday, November 20, a student’s plans to ignite a bomb at his former school were cut short by school officials and police. Former Mooresville High student Jahnathan M. Dooley, 18, was arrested last week after sharing plans to set off the bomb with counselors. School administration and police promptly acted on these statements as well as Dooley’s admission to having possession of materials to make a bomb.
According to Fox59, the first person to whom Dooley divulged his notions was the Mooresville High School guidance counselor. The counselor said she had been making time to speak with Dooley due to an incident in school two weeks earlier. Dooley was kicked out of school in the wake of making a sexual advance toward another student. The counselor reports that Dooley indicated he was unhappy with being kicked out and specifically stated that “he was going to blow it up.”
According to a related article by Reporter Times, the night before the student was arrested, he met with a Mooresville Police detective by the name of Chad Richhart. According to Richhart, Dooley admitted that “he gets crazy thoughts when he gets mad.” Dooley again stated he was still upset over being kicked out of school for touching a girl.
When Dooley was speaking to his counselor, he purportedly told her he was not permitted to be at home by himself. He went on to add that on Tuesday, his father had brought him to the local Whiteland Public Library. Documents from the court case claim that while at the library, Dooley researched methods of creating pipe bombs and even designated the place to detonate them.
The school counselor claims that he planned to position the bombs near four brick columns where students gather between classes at the front entrance. Detectives confirmed this planned location with the student and discovered that Dooley had an explanation for it. He allegedly chose this site “because they are structural support and support the second floor.” Richhart later termed Dooley as being “excited” in talking about his plans.
Based on their conversations with Dooley, his family, and school administration, authorities searched Dooley’s room. Their search revealed sugar, potassium nitrate, a fuse, and five Molotov cocktails. Dooley told authorities the cocktails were a mixture of motor oil and gas. When being questioned by the detective, Dooley explained that he “did know how to make pipe bombs and he had made other bombs as stump removers.” Dooley said he puts the mixture in a cardboard cylinder and “ignites it with a match.” Richhart reported that Dooley knew the “correct ratio (of chemicals) for the best result.”
Reports state that Dooley’s parents declared that they supervised him when he made a mild explosive.
After Dooley’s plans were revealed and the student was arrested, the school administration sent an email to the parents of Mooresville High School students, informing them of the resolution. The email read as follows.
“This communication is to inform you of a recent incident at Mooresville High School. A student made a verbal threat at school, which was investigated and verified by the administration. The information was turned over to the Mooresville Police Department and the student has since been arrested. The safety of our students and staff remains our highest priority.”
Jeff Cook is the Mooresville Patrolman who filed the probable cause affidavit to Morgan County
Jahnathan Dooley, 18, arrested in Mooresville HS bomb threat https://t.co/hfsEoQpOML pic.twitter.com/Gx26yINDr5
— WTHR.com (@WTHRcom) November 23, 2015
The 18-year-old has been charged with possession of a destructive device as an F2 felony. He has also been charged with possession of a destructive device as an F5 felony along with two counts of intimidation as F6 felonies.
[Image via Morgan County Sheriff’s Office]
