College student gets 300 days in jail for threats to Freedom High School
MARTINEZ — A 20-year-old former Texas college student was sentenced to 300 days in jail Thursday as part of a plea deal related to cyber-threats he made to students and officials at Freedom High School in Oakley.
Tristan Amir Curl, a resident of Austin, Texas, and Oakley, pleaded guilty to felony stalking and criminal threats. His sentence includes a 10-year restraining order requiring him to stay away from Freedom High School and the Liberty Union School District, as well as the named victims in the case.
According to court records, Curl made the threats using a Snapchat account — a smartphone app that lets users send videos and pictures — which he set up with a generic pseudonym. Some were posted in public comments, while others were sent through private messages. One of them said “Imma (sic) rape her,” referring to a teen girl.
He also threatened to kill Kelly Manke, the principal at Freedom High School. When asked why he made the threats, he told police he was “bored” and that they weren’t serious, authorities said.
Curl also allegedly posted pornographic images and videos with the heads of Freedom High students Photoshopped on. Then, on Oct. 23, he allegedly sent another Snapchat user death and injury statistics from the 1999 shooting of Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
The investigation into the threats included the Oakley Police Department, Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office and the FBI, a district attorney’s office news release says.
“Keeping our schools and classrooms safe for all students, teachers and administrators is a priority for this office, and anyone who threatens mass murder against a school will be investigated and prosecuted,” Contra Costa County Deputy District Attorney Chris Sansoe said in the news release.