Crime & Safety
South Hills High Grad Pleads No Contest To Threatening School
A man was sentenced after threatening to shoot up the West Covina school.
POMONA, CA - A man who pleaded no contest to threatening to shoot up a high school he once attended in West Covina, has been ordered to participate in mental health counseling and to stay away from the school and his ex-girlfriend for five years, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said Thursday.
Dereck Pena, 22, of West Covina also was sentenced to three years probation following his plea Wednesday to one felony count of criminal threats.
Pena, a former student at South Hills High School, communicated threats of violence against the school to an ex-girlfriend last Nov. 7, according to Deputy District Attorney Eric Neff.
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The ex-girlfriend notified authorities and the school was evacuated, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Pena was arrested last Nov. 8 by West Covina police and had remained behind bars until he was released late Wednesday, according to jail records.
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City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.
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