A former Lincoln-Way Central High School teacher who checked himself into a Chicago hospital for psychiatric care faces a felony charge of telephone harassment in connection with alleged threats against school district officials.
A warrant for the arrest of Ryan Gardner, 40, was secured late Tuesday afternoon.
Gardner, who reportedly lives with his parents in downstate Danville, headed north and voluntarily checked himself into University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago, said Will County State's Attorney James Glasgow. Even though he is receiving psychiatric care, Gardner would have been able to leave the hospital of his own volition, Glasgow said.
Officials hit Gardner with the felony charge, accusing him of calling Lincoln-Way School District Deputy Superintendent Thomas Eddy on Dec. 6.
About a week after the call to Eddy, officials in the Danville area learned of him threatening to "shoot and kill" officials from the Lincoln-Way School District, a law enforcement official said.
Authorities also reportedly learned Gardner was talking about trying to get his hands on a gun and that he told at least one person in the Danville area that he was given permission by a minister to kill someone.
Glasgow said his office has been communicating with officials from Vermilion County, where Gardner resides, about potential charges against Gardner in that jurisdiction as well.
Gardner has been charged with threatening Lincoln-Way officials twice before. He was first arrested in 2004 and eventually pleaded guilty to telephone harassment. The plea got Gardner a 120-day jail sentence.
Gardner was again charged with telephone harassment in April 2007. The charges were later boosted to felony harassment by electronic communication, but Gardner was found not guilty by reason of insanity.
The arrest warrant issued Tuesday was forwarded to the police department at University of Illinois Hospital, Glasgow said. When Gardner is released from care, he will be taken to the Will County jail and held on $750,000 bail.
Glasgow said putting together the case against Gardner quickly was vital, especially in the wake of the mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.
"In light of what happened in Connecticut, we have to be at a heightened level," he said.
Lincoln-Way spokeswoman Stacy Holland confirmed late Tuesday that Gardner taught at Lincoln-Way Central. She said she would have more details of his employment history Wednesday.
Lincoln-Way High School District 210's response to the threats
A statement on the LWHSD210 web page posted today reads:
"This message is for our parents of the students of the Lincoln-Way High School District 210. A former Lincoln-Way Central High School teacher is being charged with telephone harassment in connection with alleged threats against school district officials. He is in the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago.
"Our first priority is to provide a safe environment for your students. We have security and crisis plans that have been developed and practiced with area police, fire and emergency services. We meet on a regular basis with local first responders to discuss and review appropriate action in the event of an emergency.
"Our buildings are locked and we have reviewed and practiced the crisis plans with all our staff and students at the beginning of each school year. In addition, each high school has a Will County Deputy School Resource Officer stationed in each school.
"We are working with law enforcement officials to resolve this issue."
I've been best friends with Ryan for 27yrs and we live by each other now. so you all know he is a great friend and person who has a illness none of us can fathom. i tried my best to help him the last couple weeks but his illness doesn't allow him to understand that his medicine isn't working. all he knows and undestands when he has episodes is that everyone is questioning him and won't leave him alone. i am the one person he comes to for reassurance and to unwind, which he did the weekend this phone call happened. i tried with all my soul to get him to the hospital before he got hurt or hurt someone else, unfortunately he couldn't see it and i had to walk away. the issue here is that when the cops are called they have no reason to do anything to him as he hasn't done anything, but you say to them he is bipolar and is starting to loose it, they say unless he admits himself to hospital there is nothing anyone can do till he does something worthy of being arrested then he can be evaluated. no one can admit him, neither family nor friends has that control and when your mental illness starts to take over your body that person cannot see it. to resolve this something has to be done by law that gives authority to a person of the sick persons choice that will allow them to help out before any thing happens. the problem isn't the guns, bombs etc it's our government not seeing the real issue to all these tragedies happening..
If i had the authority to take Ryan to be evaluated none of this would have happened.Ryan is a man i'll stand behind for the rest of my life, he's a decent and honest friend i'd trust my life with. i hope to god he gets the treatment at a hospital before going to trial for the things he did while he was mentally sick because going straight to jail is NOT the answer. and to all you people who say something should be done, he's a nutcase etc....may god help you because this man has a didease that was given to him not by choice....remember that!!! cause it could be your kid, brother, sister mom or dad one day who gets this didease and you will then see that unless the laws change for the mentally disable people that you are not able to help them until they do something that they never would do in their right mind!! love ya Ryan your best friend BP
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/11662481-school-shooting-murdersuicide-at-florida-private-school
Gardner was arrested in 2010 for criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. was arrested in in 2009 for criminal trespass to a residence which was dismissed as part of a plea bargain on a drunk driving charge was arrested in both 2007 and 2008 on drunk driving charges was arrested in 2005 for resisting police was involuntarily admitted to a mental health facility in both 2003 and 2008 This guy has a great track record!!! Every year for the last 9 years this guy has one way or another been in trouble with the law, and yet some of you are still defending him. WTF? Either you people have no idea what you are talking about, or you are just as nuts as he is...
However i agree with one of the earlier comments made about LW and their covert handling of subjects such as these: Perhaps if they were not preoccupied with standardized testing and promoting elitism in a select few students, they may have a better rapport with students and parents alike. It's unfortunate that this situation as well as the increasing heroin problem are continually swept under the proverbial carpet in favor of statewide recognition. It's time for LW to ground themselves in the reality that they are NOT New Trier and will never be in the same bracket (income, culture, student-body, administrators, or otherwise). The time to wake up is now.
http://www.namigc.org/content/crisis/involuntarytreatment.htm