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UPDATE: Student Charged With Making Bomb Threats

UPDATE: 4:20 P.M. MOUNTAIN TOP — A high school student was charged Wednesday morning in Luzerne County with making threats at a high school that led to se...

UPDATE: 4:20 P.M.

MOUNTAIN TOP -- A high school student was charged Wednesday morning in Luzerne County with making threats at a high school that led to several evacuations.

The student is a senior at Crestwood High School in Mountain Top.

Richard Seiwell, 18, was taken to a magistrate's office in Wright Township, accused of making bomb and ricin threats at Crestwood High School.

Police believe he's the student who wrote threats on the bathroom stalls in the school and caused three evacuations but he told Newswatch 16 he didn't do it.

He's charged with weapons of mass destruction, false alarms, falsely incriminating another, terroristic threats, vandalism and several other charges.

As Seiwell walked into a magistrate's office in Wright Township, he denied all charges against him.

"It's all just b******t by the school. They're just trying to get me because they hate me."

Seiwell is accused of writing bomb and ricin threats on the bathroom stalls at Crestwood High School where he is a senior.

According to court papers the first threat happened last month. The other bomb and chemical ricin threat happened just last week. Each time the high school was evacuated.

"These are serious matters. What we've gone through, our nation has gone through. Threats like this will be taken seriously,"said Luzerne County D.A. Stefanie Salavantis.

According to court papers, police received an anonymous tip about Seiwell after the ricin threat on May 9. Investigators used writing samples to find similarities between Seiwell's handwriting and the writing in the bathroom.

After all the threats and all the evacuations, parents at Crestwood High School say they're happy to know that police have finally arrested someone.

"It's good that it's over with, but it's not good that it happened because it ruined his life and disrupted everybody else's," said Keith Gould.

According to court papers, students told police Seiwell talked about making bomb threats specifically to get out of class. But now he tells Newswatch 16 none of this is true.

"They're just intimidating students to say random things," Seiwell said.

Seiwell is now free on bail but is not allowed on school grounds or can't contact any of the other students involved in this case even by Facebook, Twitter or text.

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