Grand Jury Indicts Morrissette on 3 Felony Counts
Charges Include Attempted Aggravated Murder, Possession of Deadly Weapon
A Geauga County grand jury indicted Brandon Michael Morrissette on three felony counts, including attempted aggravated murder, possession of a deadly weapon and inducing panic.
A Geauga County grand jury indicted Brandon Michael Morrissette on three felony counts, including attempted aggravated murder, possession of a deadly weapon and inducing panic.
Morrissette, 18, of Lyndhurst, was arrested April 3 after bringing a 9mm handgun with three loaded magazines to West Geauga High School with reported plans to shoot multiple students.
The indictment was filed in Geauga County Common Pleas Court May 2 and served to Morrissette at the Geauga County Safety Center, where he has remained since his April 12 arraignment in Chardon Municipal Court. He is set to be arraigned in front of Common Pleas Judge Carolyn Paschke at a date to be determined.
The attempted aggravated murder charge, which carries three specifications, is a first-degree felony; and the possession of a deadly weapon and inducing panic charges are both fifth-degree felonies, according to the indictment.
During Morrissette’s arraignment in which he was ordered to remain in jail without bail, Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz said Morrissette took “a substantial step” toward committing aggravated murder in that he planned out his crime and brought a firearm to school.
“But for school administration and law enforcement involvement, the defendant would have carried out his crime to its conclusion,” Flaiz told Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica.
Court records show that when interviewed by Chester Township Police Chief Craig Young and Capt. Jeff Sherwood, Morrissette admitted he planned to open fire on students in the school library and chose that location because of the large number of students who would be there at that time.
Morrissette was arrested the morning of April 3 as a result of fellow student Casey Orloski, 17, discovering a 9mm bullet in the men’s bathroom and alerting school resource officer Nick Iacampo, who conducted an immediate investigation that identified Morrissette as the suspect.
Found in Morrissette’s book bag was a 9mm Smith & Wesson handgun with three loaded magazines. He also had a lock blade-style knife secured to the exterior of his pants.
