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SOUTH SALT LAKE — After the friend who reported him came to believe he was kidding, a South Jordan man accused of threatening a mass school shooting with a 3D-printed gun has admitted to a lesser charge.
Austin James David West, 23, pleaded guilty in South Salt Lake Justice Court Wednesday to disorderly conduct, an infraction. He agreed to continue with therapy, comply with terms of his probation over the next year and pay $150 or do community service. In exchange, the case will be dismissed in a year.
Dustin Craig, the friend who reported the perceived threat to Broadview University in South Salt Lake last month, said Thursday in an interview he was scared at the time, but after weeks of consideration he now believes West was joking.
"I know he would never do something like that," Craig said. "Now, looking back on it, looking back on his actions, I think it was a prank. I think it just got too far."
Craig initially believed the school would lightly discipline West, he said, "but it kind of escalated into this full-blown investigation."
Craig said he told prosecutors of his change of heart early this week. On Wednesday, the charge was reduced and West entered the plea in abeyance. He originally was charged with making a threat of violence, a class B misdemeanor.
In text messages to Craig on Aug. 7, West referenced killing people with a 3D-printed gun so the gun could not be traced to him, according to a search warrant affidavit. His friend later told police West had a fascination with firearms and mass violence and was capable of committing a mass casualty, such as a school shooting.
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Utahn threatened mass school shooting using 3D-printed gun, police say
A South Jordan man faces a criminal charge after police say he threatened to commit a mass shooting at a small South Salt Lake school using a gun made from a 3D printer.Craig said Thursday his friend was studying video game design and his creativity has long manifested in talking about guns and violence. West usually stopped discussing them when Craig told him to, but continued to talk about them in the texts last month, he recalled.
After Craig told an instructor at the school, administrators called police and sent an email warning students and faculty of the shooting threat, though the school remained open, according to South Salt Lake police. Officers served a warrant at West's South Jordan home Aug. 8 and seized a 3D printer.
West's attorney, David Shapiro, declined to make his client available for an interview on Thursday. Shapiro said that if the friends had been talking in person instead of in texts, Craig would likely not have developed such serious concerns. Shapiro said his client was expelled from the school and has $100,000 in student debt.
"He's out in the cold," Shapiro said.
Craig, of West Jordan, said his friend is a good person who helps him around his house and always hugs Craig's puppies. He believes the stress of graduation four months away may have played a role in his friend's violent text messages.
After the court hearing Wednesday, West told Craig he was sorry and that he made a mistake. Craig added, "I've seen a change in him."
A federal judge in Seattle last month blocked blueprints for 3D-printed guns from being posted online, saying they pose a danger to the public because they are untraceable.
