Durhamville Elementary School incident ends in arrest

VERONA, N.Y. — On June 15, 2022, at approximately 3:15 p.m. the Durhamville Elementary School in the Town of Verona was placed in lockdown after the school received a phone call from an individual who reportedly made threats towards a staff member.  Members of the New York State Police, Oneida Police Department, Oneida County Sheriff’s Department and Madison County Sheriff’s Department all responded to the scene.

“We had a student become unruly with a teacher and the school patrol officer,” Sgt. Krystyna Rotella said. “The school called the student’s mother and she came and got the student, who received an out-of-school suspension. The mother was fine with the school’s decision.”

The student’s father reacted harshly to the incident.

“The father did not respond well to what happened,” Rotellla said. “He called the school and made a terroristic threat. On the way to the school, Oneida City Police picked him up and arrested him.”

An investigation by the State Police resulted in the arrest of 31-year-old Jase I. McMullin who has been charged with Making a Terroristic Threat, a class “D” felony. McMullin was transported to the Oneida County Public Safety Building for Centralized Arraignment Court.

Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood said the case helped reinforce the need for officers in public schools. “The case has always been there, but unfortunately it too often takes a tragedy to wake people up,” he said. “It’s a matter of people doing something instead of just talking about it.”

The Madison County Sheriff’s Department employs two special patrol officers. One works at Otto Shortell Middle School in Wampsville. The second SPO is an Oneida County Sheriff’s Deputy who is cross-deputized and who works at Durhamville Elementary School. About one-quarter of Oneida’s student population attend these schools.

Durhamville Elementary is in the Oneida City School District but is located in Oneida County. The deputy is cross-deputized by Hood. The Oneida school district pays $19,000 for each deputy.

The Oneida school district also has a civilian school resource officer at the high school. Matt Ware is a retired policeman who works security and also serves as a mentor to students. Ware will retire from his SRO position on June 30 after 11 years at the school.

The Oneida Common Council will discuss whether to allow Police Chief John Little to hire a new officer. The Oneida school district intends to pay 78 percent of the officer’s salary and benefits with the Oneida City Police responsible for the balance. The discussion will happen this Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at city hall, 109 N. Main St.