DUBOIS – A DuBois Area High School student has been jailed for allegedly threatening to shoot another student, as well as for having multiple guns with ammunition inside his vehicle that was parked on school property.
Ryan Daniel Mancuso, 18, was charged Thursday by school police with three felony counts of terroristic threats; three misdemeanor counts of possession of weapon on school property; and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct.
Online court documents indicate he was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge James B. Glass, and housed in Clearfield County Jail without bail due to posing a “serious threat.” Currently Mancuso is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing Sept. 29.
According to a WJAC-TV news report, school officials on Tuesday received a complaint from a teacher who had overheard an altercation between Mancuso and another student. She cited concerns that it would escalate into a fight.
School officials arranged to meet with the students the next day to discuss the nature of the altercation. When authorities spoke with the victim, he called Mancuso “crazy” and related he’d threatened to “shoot him and choke him out.”
The victim also alleged that Mancuso kept weapons inside his vehicle when he drives to school. He then detailed how the altercation began in class Tuesday and continued outside of school.
The victim said Mancuso continued to threaten him via messaging and phone, which he turned over to school officials with a recording of their conversation in which Mancuso allegedly commented: “I will [expletive] choke you out with my bare hands.”
He also tried to entice the victim to fight him, according to the report. Authorities spoke with Mancuso upon his arrival to school Wednesday and he did admit to having a “squirrel gun” and ammunition in his vehicle.
Later he allegedly stated there may be a second weapon, as well and it was learned Mancuso had related that the altercation was over the victim having accused him of “hanging out with his ex-girlfriend.”
It was also noted Mancuso had made claims that the victim had been following him and threatened him.
He stated he only made the threatening phone call the night before because when he confronted the victim, he (the victim) threatened to “curb stomp” him, and tried to “jump” him in the parking lot after school.
Mancuso allegedly admitted that he should not have threatened to “shoot” the victim, and according to the report, a search of his vehicle turned up two rifles and a 12-gauge shotgun with ammunition, as well as a utility knife.
All of these weapons are prohibited from being possessed on school property, the report states.