AP Wire Service

A review of recent bomb scares at western Michigan schools shows arrests usually lead to probation, community service and fines, but some school officials and police say that kind of punishment is not harsh enough.

With students fearful after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, officials say it's time to re-evaluate how bomb threat cases are handled.

``We're basically dealing with local terrorists,'' said Fremont Police Chief Phil Deur, whose department recently arrested a 17-year-old boy and a young woman for bomb threats on five straight days at Fremont High School. ``I believe the criminal justice system is going to have to take another look at how these people are being dealt with.''

The maximum sentence for making a false bomb report, a felony, is four years in prison.

In the past two years, at least 22 people, mostly students, have been accused of making false bomb threats at west Michigan schools. A Grand Rapids Press review of those cases showed that, of the 17 suspects whose cases were closed, only one received jail time.

Lowell Area Schools Superintendent Bert Bleke said he will push for jail time if Kent County sheriff's detectives catch the caller who left a bomb threat at Lowell High School on Sept. 19. Jessica Hunt, 16, was killed in a car crash after the threat sent students home for the day.

``Three or four years ago, I looked at this whole thing as kind of a prank,'' Bleke said. ``But that has long since disappeared. It's not a prank.

``I'm convinced that this young lady would be alive today if there was not a bomb threat,'' Bleke told the Press. ``It seems to me whoever did this is indirectly responsible for this young lady's death.''

Those making threats range from a Zeeland fifth-grader who misspelled his message on a bathroom wall--``There's a boam''--to a 26-year-old Cutlerville man who threatened to blow up Wayland High School. Most were in their mid to late teens. Nine of them are girls.

Those who were attending school at the time of the threat were either suspended or expelled. For most, the threats were a joke or a way to get out of school.

Deur wants a two-year minimum prison or jail sentence for those who threaten schools.

``If would-be offenders and copycat offenders see that they're dealt with quickly and incarceration is a certainty, it's going to give them pause to reconsider,'' he said.

Last year, East Grand Rapids Public Schools officials had a rare chance to confront a suspect. They walked away disappointed.

Lorenzo Lofquist, 19, of Comstock Park, pleaded guilty to leaving a message on a computer at the high school: ``There is a bomb in the school. Get out or die.'' He was allowed into the building by a sophomore, who later was expelled.

A Kent County judge sentenced Lofquist to probation, 40 hours of community service and $700 in fines and costs. If he stays out of trouble for a year, his record will be erased.

``I was surprised that he didn't have a more serious penalty,'' said district Superintendent James Morse. ``I think we have to, unfortunately, set an example with some folks, that it's not something where you're going to have your hand slapped and go on with your life.''

Kent County Prosecutor William Forsyth blames the Legislature, which sets guidelines for judges to follow in sentencing. Judges cannot sway from the guidelines without good reason, Forsyth said.

``We can say we're tough on crime; this is a four-year felony. But it's a four-year felony in name only. The legislative guidelines don't put much of a priority on bomb threats.''