LIMA — A former Apollo Career Center student who threatened to shoot up the school last year was back in court Tuesday, where he was sentenced to three years in prison for threatening violent crimes against a girl.
Johnathan M. Ervin, 20, was sentenced for violating his probation by sending threatening text messages to a girl.
“I understand text messages indicated you love snapping people’s necks and listening to the cracking of their bones because it was so calming, and you repeated that and you threatened to rape someone,” Judge David Cheney said to Ervin.
Ervin also was terminated from the court’s Mental Health Court program for not following rules, Cheney said. Ervin was not allowed to use social media such as Facebook or a cellphone to send texts or post information, which he did, the judge said.
Ervin was convicted last year of attempted inducing panic, a third-degree felony, and menacing by stalking, a fourth-degree felony. He was sentenced to six months in jail.
In April 2014, Ervin posted threats on a website about shooting up Apollo. The threats were reported to police, who moved in to arrest Ervin. He told a detective he did not have a firearm but may be able to get a weapon from his brother.
In the stalking case, Ervin tried to communicate with a girl.
Ervin also told the detective about his mental health problems, including using bricks or a phone to bash himself in the head when he got upset. A school official at Apollo described Ervin as “a hothead” who he felt was capable of carrying out a school shooting plot.
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