A Lake County judge sentenced Ryan Krajewski to a split three-year term Friday for calling in a bomb threat to Hobart High School in January 2023. He got probation last year for similar school bomb threats in Porter County.
Krajewski, now 20, of Medina, Ohio, pleaded guilty in March to intimidation, a Level 5 felony.
He was a suspect in more than 30 other “swatting” cases, including one involving a leader of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles and another involving the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Judge Salvador Vasquez sentenced him to one year in jail and two on probation. He faced up to three years in prison.
Even if no one was hurt, the act left a lasting mark – on parents, kids and school administrators responsible for protecting them, Deputy Prosecutor Madeline Clement said.
The incident had long-lasting “psychological” effects, School City of Hobart Superintendent Peggy Buffington wrote, in one of two letters Clement read.
Hobart High School Co-Principal Colleen Newell wrote it “changed me permanently.”
Before, she always felt safe at work. Now, she found herself visualizing where the school cops were in the building and what she would do to protect herself and children if gunfire erupted.
Clement asked for three years in prison. As a precaution, all schools in Hobart were placed on lockdown for half the day. No one knew what was going on, “if there was a school shooter,” she said.
“Words matter,” she said. He was “not a child.”
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Defense lawyer John Vouga said Krajewski on his own wanted to take responsibility in a plea deal. He had grown and changed in the couple of years since. He asked for probation.
Krajewski said he regretted his actions, adding the court cases have “forced me to confront parts of myself that I’ve needed to change.”
Vasquez told Krajewski it had serious repercussions.
“I think a message has to be sent,” he said.
Vouga asked if Vasquez could consider converting the year in prison to something else. Vasquez said no, noting letters from the school’s superintendent and principal “played a big part” in his decision to send Krajewski to jail.
Police responded Jan. 26, 2023, to Hobart High School.
School administrators showed a voicemail left at 9:26 a.m. via a 1-800 number.
“Hello. You have an hour until I come into your school and blow everything the (expletive) up! And, I’m going to shoot everybody who remains,” the message said. “Do you understand? I’m not having a (expletive) good day here. So you can enjoy that.”
The investigator noted schools in Valparaiso, Portage and Wheeler got similar calls.