The Florida sheriff whose detectives perp-walked a 10-year-old boy and published his mugshot for allegedly threatening a mass shooting at his elementary school says the public disgrace is scaring kids straight.
‘The vast majority of parents come forward and tell me: “Thank you for doing that. My child is now afraid of the consequences,”‘ Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno told DailyMail.com on Tuesday. ‘It is changing the way we behave. It’s changing the way children think.’
Marceno, who touts himself as the state’s ‘law and order sheriff,’ made an example of Daniel Issac Marquez, 10, after he sent a slew of text messages featuring pictures of assault style rifles and a written threat that said ‘get ready.’
The boy was arrested and charged on Saturday with making a threat to commit as mass shooting. His mugshot and video of the arrest were released shortly afterwards.
The sheriff, who has repeatedly said that a ‘fake threat’ equates to ‘real consequences,’ said he will continue to release juvenile mugshots because doing so ensures safety and teaches that committing an ‘adult felony’ results in punishment.
‘The last thing we want to do ever is put a 10-year-old or child in handcuffs, that’s not what we want,’ he explained. ‘But, we have to do our job and we have to make certain child safety is number.’
Lee County, where Marceno serves as sheriff, is no stranger to publicizing the crimes of children. The county has shared at least nine juvenile mugshots in recent years.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, whose detectives perp-walked a 10-year-old boy and published his mugshot for allegedly threatening a mass shooting at his elementary school, says the public disgrace is scaring kids straight
Daniel Marquez, 10, (pictured) was arrested and charged on Saturday with making a threat to commit as mass shooting. His mugshot and video of the arrest were released shortly afterwards. Marceno, who has repeatedly said that a ‘fake threat’ equates to ‘real consequences,’ said he will continue to release juvenile mugshots because doing so ensures safety and teaches that committing an ‘adult felony’ results in punishment
These are the mugshots of eight juvenile offenders that have been publicly ousted by Lee County officials
Marquez sent a text to a friend joking that he would commit a mass shooting at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral.
The boy’s alleged text read: ‘I scammed my friend’ and included a Google image of money, according to his arrest report.
‘I bought this,’ he added a few seconds later, a included an image of four assault rifles.
Marquez then stated: ‘Get ready for water day,’ referencing a recent school-sponsored event in which students participate in water activities, like playing in sprinklers.
‘We have a ten-year-old, a fifth-grader, that sends text messages that circulate. Pictures of wads of money. Pictures of rifles and written threats after that,’ Marceno said of the text during his interview Tuesday with DailyMail.com.
Marquez’s threatening text was sent to another child and was forwarded on. The recipient’s parents then texted Marceno, prompting the investigation.
‘We immediately, not waiting one second, investigate that. All hands of deck. Child safety is number one,’ the sheriff, whose county is home to 118 schools and more than 100,000 students, explained, adding: ‘That every threat is real until proven otherwise.’
The fake threat was the second time in a week Lee County was rocked by the threat of violence against a school. A woman on Thursday said she would go to a high school graduation in the area with a bomb strapped to her chest.
Then, on Monday, – the same day Marquez’s mugshot was released – Corey Anderson, an 18-year-old from Hillsborough County, Florida, was arrested and charged with a felony after he posted a photo of a rifle, handgun and tactical vest online and captioned the image: ‘Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school’.
All three threats came after 19 children and two teachers were shot to death by a sick 18-year-old gunman in Uvalde, Texas. Salvador Ramos blasted his grandmother in the face before going on a rampage at Robb Elementary School last Tuesday.
Daniel Marquez, shown here be walked out of a Lee County Sheriff’s office, was described as ‘sickening’ the sheriff
The sheriff said: ‘My team didn’t hesitate one second…NOT ONE SECOND, to investigate this threat’
Marceno defended the boy’s public arrest, saying that ‘fake threats’ result in ‘real consequences.’
‘If a 10-year-old, 12-year-old, 18-year-old presses the trigger, the aftermath is the same,’ he said. ‘As a sheriff I have to make certain that we leave no stone unturned and do everything possible to protect our children.’
‘Doesn’t matter who it is, you commit a felony, you write a threat to commit a mass shooting in a school – the mugshot, the picture, it’s all going up there because the days of people trying to protect or hide are done.’
He said officials ‘cannot ignore red flags’ and ‘have to look at everything as real.’
The sheriff, citing last week’s massacre in Texas, also argued that parents need to engage in discussion with their children about mass shootings and the messages they are conveying online.
‘As you see unfortunately in Texas, the text is sent. People are communicating. There’s a TikTok video, then days or weeks later we have the event,’ he recalled, before issuing a plea to parents: ‘Parents and guardians, please sit your children down and tell them “fake threat, real consequences.”
‘We know as children, we’re going to make mistakes. I understand that – a 10-year-old’s brain is not fully developed like someone who is 35 years old. But, at the same token, when you commit an adult felony we cannot overlook that.’
Marceno, noting that he did not speak with Marquez directly, claims the boy has admitted that he made a ‘mistake’ when he sent his alleged threatening texts.
He confirmed the fifth-grader had no prior run ins with the law and said he was unaware if he had a history of mental illness. He did however, say that parents need to support their children and have open discussions to prevent school massacres.
‘I will say this – at what point or where does that child get the idea of committing a mass shooting or threatening to do so? Is the child on the internet? Does he see it on the news and copycat it?,’ he said of Marques.
‘He learns it somewhere and its important for that parent or guardian interaction to say “Did you see what happened today on the news? Did you see the unfortunate events that are taking place in the rest of the world?” And sit their child down and say, “How do you feel about that? Do you understand that you have a smart phone? Do you understand that if you say something like that the repercussions are being charged with a felony? It’s life-changing. Your picture is going to be on the news.”‘
‘The parents I’ve talked to are paranoid about policy and procedure,’ he adding, noting reiterating again that his policy is immediate investigation, which he alleges is well-supported by the members of his community.
Marceno did not disclose how Marquez’s parents reacting to the investigation or their child’s arrest, pointing out that he did not interact with the boy’s family directly.
The incident involving Patriot Elementary School is being investigated by the The School Threat Enforcement Team and the Youth Services Criminal Investigations Division
Corey Anderson, 18, also of Florida, has been arrested and charged with making a threat of a mass shooting
The sheriff also argued that parents need to provide stricter discipline to their children.
‘We need to get back to the old school. I can tell you this. When I was growing up my parents just looked at me and I knew all bets were off. We need to get back to the old school and hold people accountable,’ he told DailyMail.com.
‘When I was growing up the nun hit you with a wooden ruler. You understood what was right and wrong. Today what do we do? Society says well if your parents disciplines you and any kind of abuse come forward so we can report your parent. So parents are afraid, they’re afraid to discipline their kids.’
Additionally, while appearing on Fox News Tuesday morning, Marceno addressed the recent threat in Hillsborough County in which a teen posted photos on weapons online and then asked his iPhone for ‘directions to the nearest school’.
Corey Anderson, from Lutz, 15 miles north of Tampa, was arrested on Sunday after police were tipped off about the post. The weapons were later discovered to be airsoft guns.
Anderson was arrested and charged with a felony. He could face 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted of making a threat of a mass shooting.
‘Sheriff Chad Chronister does a great job,’ Marceno said. ‘Fellow brother of mine, fellow sheriff brother of mine, does a great job and he has the exact same stance. Child safety is number one. You can’t take any chance, you have to take everything is real until proven otherwise.’
Chronister, on Monday, declared ‘this type of threat is unacceptable.’
‘This man intentionally instilled fear into our community as a sick joke, but be warned, this is no laughing matter,’ he said. ‘We will do everything within our power to apprehend, and pursue charges on those who make school-based threats. Protecting students is our greatest priority. We take school threats very seriously, if you see something suspicious, please contact us immediately.’
Sheriff Chad Chronister declared Anderson’s threat ‘unacceptable’ and promised his office ‘will do everything within our power to apprehend, and pursue charges on those who make school-based threats.’ Pictured are photographs taken from outside Mort Elementary School on Monday
Florida’s sheriffs have been incredibly vocal about their stance on mass shooting threats.
Two days after the attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Marceno was forthright in his reaction telling the media: ‘You don’t get to shoot our children. You bring deadly force in this country, we are going to kill you.’
The sheriff thanked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for giving law enforcement in the state ‘the tools’ to keep children safe and to preserve law and order.
On May 27, Marceno appeared in an eight-minute long video in which he criticized federal aid for Ukraine.
The sheriff said that the money should be spent on ‘target hardening’ our schools.
In front of six sheriff’s deputies, all armed with assault rifles and clad in tactical gear, Marceno said that the residents of Lee County should rest assure that their children were safe in schools in the area.
Marceno was named as sheriff of Lee County first in 2018 by then-Governor Rick Scott following the resignation of previous Sheriff Mike Scott.
18-year-old gunman Salvador Ramos (left) killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24 leaving many schools in the country on edge. He legally purchased two AR-15 style rifles (right), including the one he used in the attack, and more than 300 rounds of ammunition after his 18th birthday the week before
A photo shows kids running out of Robb Elementary School last Tuesday after Ramos opened fire. It’s unclear what time the image was taken
Lee County Sheriff Marceno pictured with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on May 23
In 2020, Marceno, a Republican, won a decisive election victory over Democratic challenger Robert Neeld.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in 2020 that Lee County’s crime rate dropped by 18.4 per cent during his initial tenure between 2018 and 2020.
That’s despite the county’s growing population. Cape Coral became one of the most popular destinations among people leaving cities amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is the second time in a week that the community of Cape Coral was rocked with a threat of violence against a school.
On May 26, a woman named Tracy Carter threatened to attend a high school graduation in the area with a fake bomb strapped to her chest.
According to the Cape Coral Police Department, Carter was upset that her child was unable to graduate or attend prom due to disciplinary issues.
Carter said that she would ‘feel bad for the children she would scare but she really needed to be heard. She stated that she didn’t plan to hurt anyone.’
Cape Coral woman Stacy Carter is accused of threatening to scare attendees at a high school graduation with a fake bomb just two days after the events in Uvalde, Texas
The woman added that she wanted to mimic the Denzel Washington movie ‘John Q,’ about a father who holds a hospital emergency room hostage in order to secure a life-saving operation for his child.
A subsequent search of Carter’s home found no bomb making materials.
The arrest of 10-year-old Daniel Marquez came just after the Department of Justice announced a critical review of the law enforcement response to the initial 911 calls regarding the shooting in Uvalde.
DOJ spokesperson Anthony Coley said in a press release: ‘The goal of the review is to provide an independent account of law enforcement actions and responses that day.’
The review comes after it was revealed that Ramos’ rampage in Uvalde carried on for 77 minutes before he was engaged by a border patrol agent.
Parents of the students at Robb Elementary School showed up at the school after hearing about the reports of a shooting while the massacre was continuing inside.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk