Pine Middle

A judge on Friday agreed that a 14-year-old Pine Middle School student who shot a classmate should be sentenced to house arrest.

Prosecutors challenged Court Master Janet Schmuck's May ruling involving James Newman, who said he brought his father's gun to school March 14 because he was sick of being made fun of.

But Washoe District Family Court Judge Frances Doherty sided with Schmuck's ruling, dismissing claims that Schmuck abused her discretion.

Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick had called Schmuck's ruling "crazy," and during Friday's hearing, Deputy District Attorney Jo Lee Wickes said Schmuck's decision did not consider public safety.

Wickes added that Newman would benefit more from being incarcerated because he would have more education, socialization and recreation opportunities.

Newman's attorney, David Houston, said the boy is doing well on house arrest and that psychiatrists deemed him a low risk to commit similar violent offenses.

Houston said the prosecutor's claim that Schmuck abused her discretion was based on "societal revenge" because he was not incarcerated for a crime that sent fear through the school and the community.

Schmuck has said she struggled with the sentencing and wanted to give Newman and his family a chance to "make it work."

Schmuck ordered that Newman and his family undergo counseling, that all weapons be removed from their home and that he complete 200 hours of community service.

Newman also cannot get a driver's license until 90 days after his 16th birthday and can't get a hunting license for two years.

Gammick said the sentence undermines efforts to keep guns out of schools.

"It sends an absolutely terrible message," he told The Associated Press.

"Factually, this is a simple case. A kid takes a gun to school and shoots somebody he doesn't even know and injures another kid and he gets put on house arrest? Give me a break," he said.

"House arrest was not even on my radar scope," Gammick said.

Gammick said his office has received a number of calls from parents concerned that Newman will end up at an area high schools next year.

"We have been preaching anti-guns and no weapons in school in all facets of law enforcement and in the school districts, and then we get a slap on the wrist for what happened here. This is crazy," he said.

David Houston, Newman's lawyer, said Gammick was ignoring the facts.

Newman "was incarcerated for 2 1/2 months, so to suggest that he was being released with no consequences is absurd," Houston said.

"We're talking about a boy who never had so much as a sleep-over away from his house," he said.

Houston said Newman made significant progress in counseling in past weeks, receiving therapy at least two times a week with a psychologist his parents hired.

"The state's own experts said he moved from being a high risk to a low risk during that period of time," he said.

RENO, Nev. -- A 14-year-old boy who shot and injured two fellow middle school students was sentenced Friday to house arrest until he completes 200 hours of community service.

Prosecutors had recommended James Scott Newman, who pleaded guilty to battery with a deadly weapon, be placed in a state juvenile facility.

Washoe County Juvenile Court Master Janet Schmuck acknowledged she struggled with the sentence before she ordered to him to have electronic monitoring and 24-hour supervision at his parents home in Reno.

"If it does not work to the court's satisfaction, James will be committed," Schmuck said. "But I want to give James and his family an opportunity to make it work."

Deputy District Attorney Jo Lee Wickes immediately appealed the sentence, saying it was not proper given the seriousness of the crime.

David Houston, the boy's lawyer, said this was the best outcome.

"The family and James look forward to the opportunity to put his matter behind them by accepting responsibility for what he has done and ask the court for what they felt to be the appropriate penalty," Houston said.

"The family and James continue to extend their apologies to the young people injured in this event and their families," Houston said.

Juvenile Court Master Janet Schmuck said Friday that she ordered the detention of 14-year-old James Scott Newman during his initial hearing on March 20 because he was considered a danger to society.

"And I have not heard anything to change that," Schmuck said.

Two psychologists, one appointed by the state and another hired by the family, evaluated Newman to determine whether he's a safety risk. They came to different conclusions. The state-hired psychologist said Newman was a threat, while Earl Nielsen said the boy could safely be released.

Nielsen, who had been hired by the family, told the judge he had met with Newman several times and reviewed school reports and community letters. He found that although the boy may suffer from anxiety and depression, he does not suffer from any psychological disorders suggesting any new violent behavior.

"I don't believe that James presents a high risk to the community," Nielsen testified. "I don't think he's a danger to himself. I don't think he's a danger to others."

Houston told the judge Newman's family has outlined a plan for complete care and supervision round-the-clock should he be released, including therapy for the boy and his family, medical care, help from neighbors, education and exercise.

But Wickes argued that Newman's behavior before the incident, and the shooting itself, shows that he can't be trusted.

Newman told one evaluator he had tried to get his brother to buy a carbon-dioxide cartridge for an air rifle, "so that (James Scott Newman) could harm more people when he ran out of bullets," she said. And he had read information on the Internet about the Columbine High School shootings because "it helped inspire him."

"He rejected using a .45-caliber because it was too complicated, and he described the 38 as his favorite gun," Wickes said. "He rejected stabbing someone because he didn't want all that blood on him."

A 14-year-old boy accused of wounding two classmates in a shooting at a Reno middle school has denied four charges against him and will face trial in June.

James Scott Newman sat quietly in a hearing before a juvenile court master as his lawyer entered the denial pleas for him.

Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick said that based on the current evidence, Newman was moved to a juvenile detention center in Reno where he will face two counts of battery with a deadly weapon.

"It has been determined that a review of the evidence and meetings between prosecutors and police personnel, that the requirement of specific intent to kill cannot be met from the facts of this case," Gammick said in a statement late Friday.

Police say it's unlikely that Newman's parents will be charged with any crime in connection with the gun because they say there were gun locks and other reasonable security methods used at their home.

An eighth-grade student accused of opening fire in his middle school hallway, hitting one student, planned at least a week in advance to shoot and kill his classmates because he was tired of them making fun of him, according to court documents released Thursday.

Police believe James Scott Newman, 14, was further inspired to go through with the Tuesday shooting at Pine Middle School after he researched the 1999 Columbine High School shooting rampage on the Internet, officers said in a court affidavit.

Police said Thursday they found drawings in Newman's locker of stick figures lying on the ground near guns with the words "die" and "kill" written on them. One note said that "no one will know me now, but tomorrow they will," Reno Sgt. Randy Saulnier said.

Tuesday morning, Newman boarded his school bus with the revolver he took from his parents' bedroom, along with three rounds he took from a bullet collection his father gave to him the day before. He tucked the gun into his notebook.

Once inside Pine Middle School, Newman went into the bathroom and put the gun in his coat pocket. On his way out, he saw Alex Rueda, 14, walk by and "he decided he would start by shooting this person," the affidavit said.

One of Newman's friends saw him pull out the gun and yelled at him to put it away, documents said. Newman then told the friend to run.

"(Newman) aimed the firearm at (Rueda's) back and pulled the trigger twice," the affidavit said.

Newman twice fired at Rueda, police allege, but his revolver did not fire as the hammer fell on two empty chambers.

He then stood parallel to Rueda while still aiming the gun at his back, and shot at him three more times. Two of the rounds struck other objects but the third struck Rueda in the arm. One of the bullets ricocheted off the floor and grazed the leg of Kenzie McKeon, 14, who had been kneeling by her lower locker.

Washoe County school officials told hundreds of anxious Pine Middle School parents Wednesday they didn't know how to prevent shooting incidents such as the one that wounded two eighth-graders the previous morning.

"We cannot guarantee we can make this school 100 percent safe, just as you cannot guarantee your child's safety when he or she gets in a car," Superintendant Paul Dugan told more than 500 students, parents and teachers. "Metal detectors are not a guarantee for safety."

"You can see he had been thinking about this and considering it," Lt. Ron Donnelly said after detectives interviewed the suspect, found drawings and writings in his locker and talked with his family and friends.

"Students who heard him talk about bringing the gun to school thought it was just talk," Rusk said. "Now they feel very guilty and wonder what they should have done. They felt (his comments) were just middle school bravado and that he wasn't serious."

That's because the Nevada Supreme Court recently required that the state must prove a juvenile had a specific intent to kill in order to bring an attempted murder charge, he said.

The teacher at Pine Middle School heard three shots just before 9 a.m. and rushed out of a room to find the alleged shooter, James Scott Newman, standing outside the school cafeteria.

"She empathized with him, tried to be understanding and de-escalated the situation. She was successful in having him place his gun on the ground which is pretty amazing," Reno police Lt. Ron Donnelly told KKOH Radio.

After he dropped the gun, the teacher "bear hugged" Newman until additional staff arrived on scene, Donnelly said. "It was an heroic job done by the school teacher," he said.

USATODAY.com - Police: Boy opens fire with handgun, injures 2 students:

The shooter was an eighth grade student who has no known connection with the two victims...

"It appears he decided to engage in school violence," the officer said. "He brought a gun to school today and randomly targeted these two students."

 The shooter is being charged as an adult and is being held on $150,000 bail on attempted murder charges.

Reno Police Lieutenant Ron Donnelly says a boy was wounded in the upper arm and taken to Washoe Medical Center for treatment. A girl received a superficial wound to the leg from shrapnel and was treated at the scene.