Teen allegedly made threat for cash

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DIXON -- For the second time in as many weeks, a student has threatened violence. But the threat found Wednesday on a Dixon High School wall differs from the one found last month at Reagan Middle School, administrators say. Steven D. Harrison, 18, 1540 Freedom Walk, Apt. D2, allegedly took a black marker to a fourth-floor wall, threatening to kill a school administrator. He then reported the threat to collect money from a fund that rewards students for tips about potential school violence, Superintendent Jim Brown said. Harrison was arrested Thursday morning, charged with disorderly conduct and released on $75 bond. "Basically, the kid did it for money," Brown said. "He doesn't have discipline problems or any issues similar to this before. The motivation was not to harm; it was not to interrupt school. There are rewards for giving tips, and he needed money." The district's "Quick 50" program pays students up to $50 for information about potential school crimes. It is similar to Illinois' "CrimeStoppers" initiative, which uses things such as cash incentives to encourage citizens to contact police if they have information about dangerous activities. A "Quick 50" tip led to the arrest of a 13-year-old Dixon girl on April 25. She is accused of writing a threat on a bathroom wall at Reagan, and faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and criminal damage to government-supported property, plus up to 10 days of out-of-school suspension or possible expulsion. It also was not deemed a legitimate threat, officials have said. The matter with Harrison will be handled without jeopardizing his ability to graduate, Brown said. "Hopefully, we can still keep him on schedule." Harrison earned honors recognition at the high school last year, when he was a junior. Sgt. Dan Langloss said school officials and school resource officer Jason LaMendola solved the case within 40 minutes of the start of school Thursday. "I'm real pleased that we were able to solve it that quickly," Langloss said. Langloss confirmed that Harrison notified staff about the threat, but said he couldn't speculate on his motive. As a result of the threat, patrols were increased around the school. Dixon police have a "zero-tolerance" policy when it comes to threats of school violence, which means every threat will be investigated and arrests will be made, the department said in a news release Thursday. "We weren't real concerned about the threat, but regardless of how concerned we were, we respond in the same manner we would if we thought it was a bigger deal," Langloss said. "You just don't know this day and age ... it's kind of scary all the way around." Reach Malinda Osborne at 815-625-3600 or 800-798-4085, ext. 526.