Marathon man who made online threats to Marathon High School

A Marathon man who made online threats to Marathon High School as well as a specific person on February 17 — and affirmed those threats to people who responded – has been sentenced to six months in jail and will spend at least the next four years on strict probation.

On August 1 before Acting Circuit Court Judge Ruth Becker, Duviel Gonzalez, 20, pleaded no contest to making threats to kill or do bodily injury, a second-degree felony; and a misdemeanor count of possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. Becker adjudicated him guilty on both counts.

From an Instagram account with the user name “death_reapear,” he posted a photo with the words “Marathon High school Your on my list for 2 Round” and a another showing a photo of a man holding an assault rifle with his face half-covered with the words “Round 2 of Florida tomorrow.” He also wrote “Marathon you will be next.”

Gonzalez also posted a photo of five shotguns with the words under it, “Obviously can’t wait for These bad boys to get into work.”

Responses to it were: “Ok, first off u gunna carry all that sh*t around wtf,” “Don’t do this to marathon wtf,” “Your sick” and “like why do they wanna take other kids lives just for fame.”

Gonzalez also posted, “No don’t worry for sure I know you won’t be there but damn right I have enough ammo for Every classroom.” Someone responded, “don’t kill me plz.”

He also posted, referring to the guns, “I can actually carry it and I have more guns just not going to need it all for a few people I hate in that school.” The specific victim responded, “Whatever u attention whore.” Gonzalez responded, “Lol you earned your self one or 2 in your face.”

The posts came just days after the February 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland in Broward County in which 17 people were killed by a lone gunman.

Gonzalez’s threats were posted the same day Marathon High was hosting a countywide band competition including Key West and Coral Shores high schools, an event hundreds of student musicians, their parents, staff from the schools and members of the community in general planned to attend. The competition went forward with heightened security provided by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

An intensive investigation by the Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the federal Department of Homeland Security Investigations, with help from the U.S. Border Patrol, resulted in Gonzalez’s arrest the same day.

In addition to jail (166 days credit for time served), Becker ordered Gonzalez to serve five years of probation (eligible to apply for release after four if he meets certain terms) and during that time, he can’t have access to social media or have any social media accounts. He also is banned from all Monroe County School District properties during the term of his probation.

He must pay the Sheriff’s Office $6,400 for the cost of its investigation, as well as $398 in court costs and $100 for the cost of prosecution. In addition, he must perform 250 hours of community service, go through a substance-abuse evaluation, receive psychological counseling and have no contact with the specific person he threatened in his posts. On the marijuana charge, his driver’s license was revoked for one year.

When deciding what to seek as punishment, Assistant State Attorney Christine Poist, who represented the state, consulted with the minor victim and her parents, schools Superintendent Mark Porter and the School Board, Sheriff Rick Ramsay and officers involved in the case, and the FBI.

Porter, Ramsay, other law enforcement officers and at least one School Board member attended the sentencing hearing.

The day of the threats, “Several concerned students, parents and faculty members” of Marathon and Key West high schools called police after seeing the posts, Detective David Fernandez wrote in his report. “All parties expressed extreme fear for the safety of their children.”

Sheriff’s Office Detective Rosemary Ponce contacted Facebook, which owns Instagram, and obtained the IP address (the identifying number on an electronic device connected to the Internet) of the device from where the posts were sent. Using that, she contacted Comcast, which provided the name of the person whose IP it was. It turned out to be the telephone of a Big Pine Key resident who had let Gonzalez use it.

With that information, authorities executed a search warrant of a house on Avenue F on Big Pine Key and interviewed the person who owns the phone (she was not part of making the threats). She told investigators she loaned Gonzalez the phone. Then Gonzalez drove up and a U.S Border Patrol agent’s K-9 dog “alerted” to the smell of marijuana and Gonzalez was arrested for marijuana possession after they found a small marijuana cigarette in the car. He was taken into custody.

Upon questioning, Gonzalez admitted to being the poster of “death_reappear” using the borrowed phone. He was further charged with the felony.

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