[B]ARRE — A janitor at Harwood Union High School accused this week of using liquid soap to write “I am going to kill you all” on the mirror in a boys bathroom didn’t appear in court to face criminal charges brought against him because he’s been hospitalized.
Dick Peck, 51, of Moretown, was set to be arraigned Thursday in Washington County criminal court in Barre on charges of disorderly conduct and causing false public alarm. He was issued a citation Wednesday evening to appear in court Thursday.
Washington County Deputy State’s Attorney Traci Leibowitz told Judge Mary Morrissey on Thursday in court that Peck would not be attending the hearing because he was at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin receiving medical care.
A $2,500 warrant was issued for his arrest, to go into effect as soon as he is discharged from the hospital.
“I don’t know why he’s receiving medical treatment,” the prosecutor said of Peck after the hearing, adding, “I don’t have information to share on that topic.”
Asked if the case centered on Peck’s mental health, Leibowitz told reporters, “That often is involved in these types of charges. That’s being investigated.”
Peck had no criminal record on file at the Washington County courthouse, and the prosecutor said of him, “This is not someone who has been on our radar.”
Leibowitz also said what motivated Peck to make the alleged threat remains unclear. “There doesn’t appear to be any specific person this was directed at,” the prosecutor said.
She did say she is seeking an extreme risk protection order under a law that went into effect earlier this year. The order is obtained through a civil process, and, if approved, by a judge, would prevent Peck from possessing firearms for up to six months.
Court records released Thursday in support of the charges filed against Peck reveal he provided several statements about his alleged role in making the threat at the school. Investigators also had video taken from the school’s surveillance system that they say contradicted some of Peck’s statements.
According to the affidavit, it was Peck who reported to a school administrator late Tuesday afternoon finding the threat stating, “I am going to kill you all,” spelled out with liquid soap over two mirrors in the science hall’s boys bathroom.
The next day, Vermont State Police Detective Trooper James Vooris wrote in the affidavit, he learned that there was a video camera that pointed at the bathroom.
School staff had watched the video and identified every student and staff member, about 52 people total, who entered between 1:45 p.m. and a little after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, which is around the time Peck alerted the administrator of the threat in the bathroom, the affidavit stated.
After dozens of interviews, the detective wrote, none of those students or staff members recalled seeing any writing on the mirrors, though some did report seeing soap on the mirror that was not in the form of letters.
Police said they also saw Peck enter the bathroom at 4:37 p.m. Tuesday, and walk out two minutes later. After walking around the school, Peck returned to the bathroom at 4:44 p.m. Tuesday, and walked out a minute later, and at no time during either trip to the bathroom did he have any cleaning supplies with him, the affidavit stated.
Vooris said he went to Peck’s home Wednesday afternoon to talk to him. Peck told investigators he was in the bathroom cleaning for about 20 minutes when he made it to the sinks and looked up and saw writing on the mirrors, according to the affidavit.
He then went to report what he saw to an administrator, who took pictures of the writing on the mirrors, the affidavit stated.
“Peck reiterated this sequence a second time which I knew to be inaccurate based on the camera footage, he clearly was not in the bathroom for twenty minutes,” the detective wrote, adding, “We explained to him that he was on camera and contrary to what he was telling us, he didn’t bring any cleaning supplies into that bathroom at that time.”
After more questioning, Peck then stated, “Okay, yup I did it. Why? I don’t know. Because that is what everyone wants to hear.”
Vooris replied that investigators were after the truth and didn’t want him to lie about his role in the incident, according to the affidavit.
“Peck then advised that when he located the writing on the mirror it was spelled incorrectly so he ‘straightened it out’ and that he was going to lose his job because of this,” the detective wrote, adding Peck told him he used his fingers to correct the spelling of the words.
“During the conversation he also advised that he added additional words to the writing on the mirror but was adamant that the word ‘kill’ was already present when he entered the bathroom,” Vooris wrote.
Vooris wrote that after interviewing Peck he returned to the school and Peck also showed up there, ready to start work at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. At that time, the detective wrote, he interviewed Peck again in a room at the school.
After walking into the room, Vooris wrote that Peck immediately stated, “I admit, I did a stupid thing, I admit if (sic) could take it back I would take it back.” Peck then added again that there was writing on the mirror, including the word “kill” that he just straightened out with his finger, the affidavit stated.
Another detective then asked Peck why he did it, and he replied, “I have no clue. They never take anything serious around here. You know you go tell them things and they don’t take anything serious around this school. They don’t; listen to custodians. They act like were (sic) stupid. I don’t know why I did it.”
Peck also continued to be adamant that some of the writing was on the mirrors when he entered the bathroom, later telling investigators that if he had only reported the word “kill” written on the mirror the school would have “blew it off” and not done anything about it, according to the affidavit.
Peck also wrote an apology, the detective wrote, which stated, “I am sorry I add (sic) to the message on the mirror. I did not mean for this to happen.”
According to the affidavit, as a result of the discovery of the threat, school officials sent an email Tuesday evening about it to parents, staff and other community members, and on the next day, Wednesday, 123 students were absent as school remained open and police investigated.
For comparison, on Monday, only 28 students were absent, the affidavit stated.
If convicted of the two misdemeanor charges against him, Peck faces up to a little more than two years in prison.
