A former Kalispell man who allegedly threatened to shoot school children and assassinate religious leaders was found not guilty of stalking in a Michigan court on June 28.
David Joseph Lenio, 30, was arrested earlier this year on charges of felony stalking, felony use of a computer to commit a crime and misdemeanor malicious use of a telecommunications service after being accused of harassing a Maryland man on Twitter.
The accusations came less than a year after Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan agreed to dismiss felony intimidation charges so long as Lenio remained law abiding for two years.
At a three-day trial in Kent County Circuit Court, Lenio was acquitted of both felony charges and convicted of the misdemeanor, according to the Grand Rapids Press. Lenio could be sentenced to up to six months in jail. He was released to the custody of his parents pending his sentencing in August.
According to court documents, Lenio had been harassing Jonathan Hutson, a Maryland man who first discovered Lenio’s threatening Twitter messages in early 2015, when Lenio was living in Kalispell.
In one online post on Feb. 12, 2015, Lenio, who had recently moved to Kalispell, allegedly wrote, “I bet I could get at least 12 unarmed sitting ducks if I decide to go on a killing spree in a school. Sounds better than being a wage slave.” And in another tweet, sent on Feb. 15, he reportedly wrote, “If my tax dollars can go to blowing up Palestine school kids then surely I can tweet about how cool killing school kids is.”
On Feb. 16, an officer with the Kalispell Police Department contacted Lenio to talk to him about his tweets. Lenio admitted that he had sent the messages and that he was “trying to bring attention to certain social issues,” according to court documents. He then told the officer that he was glad his tweets were gaining the attention of law enforcement and school officials.
Later that same day, an officer talked to Lenio’s roommate, who said Lenio had brought rifles and ammunition to their home the night before, according to authorities. Police obtained a search warrant for Lenio’s apartment and found a 9mm semiautomatic and a Russian-made bolt-action rifle in his bedroom. They also found numerous rounds of ammunition in Lenio’s bedroom and basement. Later they conducted a search of Lenio’s vehicle and found a .32 caliber semiautomatic pistol and more ammunition. They also discovered marijuana, a pipe and jugs of urine.
Lenio was arrested that day as he was coming back from snowboarding at Whitefish Mountain Resort.
Lenio was charged in Flathead County District Court with intimidation and criminal defamation, both felonies. He pleaded not guilty to the charges soon after his arrest. He spent five months in the Flathead County Detention Center before being released into the custody of his family in Michigan.
In March 2016, prosecutors dropped the charges against Lenio so long as he stayed out of legal trouble for two years.
Earlier this year, Hutson accused Lenio of harassing and threatening him on Twitter again. Lenio’s account was later shut down for violating the website’s terms of service. While Lenio’s actions could have violated his deferred prosecution agreement with Flathead County, Corrigan decided not to reopen the case because the alleged violations did not occur in Montana.
In a statement to the Beacon, Hutson said he hopes Lenio gets therapy and treatment.
“I hope he will turn his life around,” he said. “He needs intervention and support to do that.”