ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. — A Temperance man was found not guilty Monday of using a phone to threaten an Oxford Community Schools official, using as a defense his anger over how the district had "failed students" in how it handled an accused mass shooter at the high school.
Craig James Macrina, 55, was charged in December for alleged malicious use of a communications device to leave messages for then-Oxford Community Schools Superintendent Tim Throne. The offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
His lawyer, Neil Rockind, said messages left by Macrina were never covered up or disguised in any way and simply expressed his client's anger with how the school system addressed issues with the accused 15-year-old shooter, Ethan Crumbley, in the days leading up to the incident.
"He (Macrina) never expressed physical harm towards anyone. It was not a true threat and the jury understood that," said Rockind. "He stated he felt officials had mishandled the situation, that they had dropped the ball and failed students and that they had to go."
Throne, who retired last month, and Angela Weaver, assistant to the superintendent, testified last week in the trial before 52-3 District Court Judge Julie Nicholson in Rochester Hills.
The alleged threats followed the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting at Oxford High School in which four students were killed, and six other and a teacher were injured.
While Macrina doesn't live in the Oxford district or have a relationship with any of the victims, he has children and sympathized with Oxford families and students, Rockind said. His "passion" prompted him to leave messages that the district reported to law enforcement as a threat.
"It's a matter of interpretation if the messages constituted a threat rather than the exercise of free speech," Rockind said. "It's protected by the First Amendment but was said in the heat of the immediate aftermath of that tragic shooting."
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald's office could not be reached for comment Monday but Rockind expressed admiration for the jury of three men and three women. The jury heard two days of testimony and deliberated less than two hours Monday before reaching their verdict.
"These jurors have children of their own and certainly feel the pain and worry that will be felt for some time," Rockind said. "They listened and they did their job."
In cross-examination last week, Throne said an email sent by Macrina expressing school officials had "failed students" made him view the man's earlier voice mail in a different perspective.
Multimillion-dollar lawsuits have been filed against the district and officials, alleging they were negligent in not providing proper security measures for the safety of students and staff. Officials have repeatedly refused offers of a third-party review of events leading up to the shooting by the Michigan Attorney General's Office and recently said such action may take place after criminal and civil matters were resolved in the courts.
In a span of a few days after the shooting, Crumbley was charged with murder and other felonies, and his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were charged with involuntary manslaughter. They are accused of failing to report concerns about him and buying him a handgun as a Christmas present.
The parents were called to a meeting at the high school on Nov. 30 about teachers' concerns, which included that their son was searching for ammunition on his cellphone a day earlier and that morning was found with a disturbing drawing on his math homework of a shooting with the words that he needed help.
The parents downplayed his actions and never told officials he had access to a weapon or had expressed thoughts of needing to see a therapist because he thought a demon was haunting their house, prosecutors have said.
Oxford school officials showed the parents the drawings and said they were required to get their son into counseling in the next 48 hours. They asked the parents to remove him from the school that day. But they left the school without him, and he remained in the building.
School officials have said they felt it was better for the teen to return to classes after the meeting rather than go home and be unsupervised.
A couple hours later, the shooting occurred. It is believed the gun was in the teen's backpack, which was never examined by his parents or school officials.
Throne and other school officials said the high school sophomore had never exhibited violent behavior, threats or expressed thoughts of harming anyone at school. Their counseling suggestions were focused on officials' concerns that he might pose a threat to himself. His actions never warranted any disciplinary action, Throne said.
Upon hearing news reports of the shooting at the school, both parents feared the worst: the mother telling co-workers she felt her son might be responsible and the father rushing home to see if the handgun was missing. He made a 911 call to authorities when he could not find the weapon.
Ethan Crumbley remains in isolation in the Oakland County Jail without bond pending a Sept. 6 trial. His attorneys have been attempting to have him transferred to the county's Children's Village juvenile facility. Another placement hearing is set for Thursday before Judge Kwame Rowe.
Crumbley's parents, who face felonies that can carry up to 15 years in prison, also are jailed pending an Oct. 24 trial in Oakland Circuit Court.
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(Detroit News staff sriter Jennifer Chambers contributed to this report.)
