By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

John Lawrence Schultz IV

ROCHESTER — A Rochester teen accused of plotting a Columbine-type massacre at Rochester and Caston schools was recently arrested after allegedly violating his in-home detention rules.

John Lawrence Schultz IV, 19, 630 W. 6th St., Rochester, was arrested on March 12. He was initially arrested in July 2020 on four criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, a level 2 felony.

According to court documents, Rochester Police Department was notified on July 13, 2020, that “Johnny Schultz IV and some friends are planning a school massacre…they have a bunch of guns and they are waiting for school to open to ‘kill a bunch of kids.'”

Dating back to May 12, 2020, Schultz posted several veiled threats on his two Facebook pages, including the lyrics to the song “Pumped Up Kicks,” a graphic of a partial skeleton and a photo collage with an image of Columbine killer Eric Harris.

A petition to revoke pre-trial in-home detention was filed by a Fulton County pretrial release officer. The document states that as part of the in-home detention program, Schultz was to be confined in his residence at all times except for court-approved activities. It was discovered that on March 12, Schultz was supposedly not at court-approved locations.

Schultz’s attorney, Joseph G. Bauer, has filed an emergency motion for Schultz to be immediately released from the Fulton County Jail. Bauer’s argument states that probation wrongfully claimed Schultz violated a term of home detention. Upon learning of the violation, Bauer argued Schultz immediately reported to the probation department to explain his whereabouts.

Bauer also said he personally went to the probation department and explained that Schultz was with him at the locations not court-approved.

Fulton Circuit Court Judge Christopher Lee has denied the emergency motion for immediate release and has scheduled a fact finding hearing regarding the petition to revoke Schultz’s pre-trial in-home detention.

The hearing is set for 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 23. A jury trial for Schultz’s case is scheduled for June.