by RICHARD KERNS
Tribune Staff Writer
KEYSER — A Keyser man was taken into custody on corruption-of-a-minor charges out of Pennsylvania following a domestic disturbance late Tuesday afternoon involving two youths who had fled from an area children's home.
In a separate incident, two juveniles at the Alternative School were arrested this week for making a bomb threat at the school.
In the Tuesday incident, Keith Douglass, 31, was arrested following the 4:54 p.m. call on Baltimore Street. Initial reports to police indicated that shots had been fired, prompting a response by both Keyser police officers and members of the Mineral County Sheriff's Department.
Once on the scene, though, officers determined that no shots had been fired. A weapon was found in the residence, but it was never displayed during the incident.
Officers quickly established control at the Baltimore Street residence, clearing the house within several minutes of their arrival. “It wasn’t a stand-off situation,” a Keyser police spokesman said.
Among those cleared from the residence were two juveniles who had fled from a group shelter in Keyser maintained by Burlington United Methodist Family Services. They were returned to officials with the BUMFS.
Douglass was initially detained on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear at Magistrate Court. A further records check uncovered the outstanding corruption-of-a-minor charge in Pennsylvania. He was then arrested and held as a fugitive from justice.
In other police activity, Keyser Police responded just before noon Wednesday to the Alternative School on Clary Street for a reported bomb threat. Officers cleared the building and conducted a search, which found no explosive devices.
Subsequent investigation led to the arrest of a 15-year-old male and a 12-year-old female in connection with the threat. The two were charged with making a false report, willful disruption of a government process, and making a terroristic threat. The charges will be processed in juvenile court.
If the process follows the procedure used last spring following a spate of bomb threats at Keyser Primary Middle School, the two will also face disciplinary action through the Mineral County Board of Education, which expelled students involved in last year's incidents.
Those charged last year also faced possible detention in a juvenile facility.
