Man accused of threatening to bomb Huntley school kicked out of mental health court, sent to prison

A man who initially was accepted into mental health court after allegedly making threats to bomb a Huntley School District 158 school in 2020 later violated the terms of the program and has now pleaded guilty.

Jonathan Franzen, 27, who is listed as homeless and living in Woodstock in court documents, pleaded guilty to threatening a school building or person, a Class 4 felony, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to a judgment order in McHenry County court.

In January 2020, months before schools were shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Franzen was arrested after personnel in District 158 alerted police to a bomb threat posted on social media. Franzen was accused of making the threat to bomb a school and harm others in a SnapChat post, according to Northwest Herald reporting at the time.

After “numerous hours searching locations and technology,” investigators found Franzen in Woodstock, and police determined that he had “no means to carry out the threat.” He also told police that he had no intentions of carrying out the act, authorities said at the time.

On Feb. 10, 2022, Franzen was accepted into the McHenry County Mental Health Court Program, which defers the prosecution of defendants and allows them to have their case eventually dropped if they follow the requirements of the program without a conviction on their records.

But last December, prosecutors filed a motion to discharge Franzen from the specialty court, alleging that he was not complying with the rules, according to the court motion. Among the violations alleged are that shortly after being accepted into the program, he went missing from the residential home he was sent to and failed to tell the court where he was. When he returned to the home, he was allegedly “under the influence of marijuana and alcohol,” according to the document.

Within the first few weeks of being at the home, staff reported that he was “verbally and physically violent to staff and peers,” including “attacking a staff member with a glass bowl while under the influence.” He also was alleged to have thrown “hot chocolate at a peer” and missed probation appointments, according to the motions.

When unsuccessfully discharged from the home and transferred to another facility, where he allegedly threatened his roommate, prosecutors said he tested positive for marijuana and alcohol, missed probation and group meetings, and was then sent to a group home where he also was unsuccessfully discharged for allegedly drinking alcohol and displaying inappropriate language and behavior.

The motion to discharge him from the specialty court was granted Dec. 18, and he was sent to the county jail, according to court records.

Franzen now is required to serve half of his prison term. Afterward, he will serve six months of mandatory supervised release. He is receiving credit for 173 days spent in the county jail. His attorney declined to comment.