Racine police say the teenage boy who tried to blow up Washington Park High School in 2012 with a homemade bomb pulled a gun on a relative and their friend after an argument.
Franklin Jones, 16, was charged Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court with felony possession of a firearm and one misdemeanor count each of pointing a firearm at another person and disorderly conduct, use of a dangerous weapon. If convicted, he faces up to 11 years in prison and/or up to $36,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to Jones’ home on March 20 because the caller said Jones was fighting with a relative and their friend while holding a gun. When officers arrived, the relative said they got into an argument about Jones’ friends causing trouble at their home. At one point, Jones went down to the basement to retrieve a handgun.
Police say the relative tried to take the gun away from Jones but was unable to do so. When the relative’s friend asked Jones what he was doing with the gun, Jones said, “Whatcha gonna do about it?” and pointed the firearm at the friend with both arms extended. The relative and their friend told police they last saw Jones walking down the street with another boy.
Another relative was called to help find Jones, but they lost the defendant a few blocks away, the complaint reads. Officers caught up to Jones, but he no longer had the gun when he was taken into custody.
Police say on the ride to jail Jones was violently kicking the sides of the squad car and was screaming expletives about his relative and police officers. After they safely booked Jones into jail, they discovered that he had been convicted in 2012 of second degree recklessly endangering safety when he placed an improvised bomb in a hallway at Washington Park High School.
Jones remains in the Racine County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond. His next court date is April 16 for a preliminary hearing.