LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) – One of the teens accused of making a Snapchat account to make a threat toward Jessamine County Schools has accepted a plea deal.
Cody Ritchey will plead guilty to a cyberstalking charge while two other charges against him were dropped.
Documents say that Ritchey and Tristan Kelly created a fake Snapchat profile in another student’s name and used a photo of him with a handgun to send a threatening snap to students.
"Jessamine County Schools. Be ready Monday."
That student pictured, Danny Cross, was later determined to be an innocent party. At the time the alleged threats against the school were made, Cross was in a rehab facility getting treatment for substance abuse. He spoke with LEX 18 in March about how the incident had affected him.
"I feel like it’s way different than before. It’s kind of hard to talk to people from my school because a lot of them believed it, and it hurt to think they believed I would do something like that,” he said.
Prosecutors say the two teens also sent a message to that same victim’s ex-girlfriend demanding her to send nude photos of herself, saying she would be spared from the mass shooting.
In turn for his plea, Ritchey will receive no more than five years in prison, a fine of no more than $250,000 and a term of supervised release of no more than three years.
