Jan. 29--A man who posted online that he brought a gun to school every day said it showed his twisted sense of humor, but a DuPage County jury didn't find it funny and convicted him Thursday of felony disorderly conduct.
Jurors deliberated about 90 minutes before returning a guilty verdict against Aden Khan, 23, whose post on a Facebook page frequented by students of Naperville's North Central College alarmed school administrators.
Khan, who had been out on bond, was taken into custody after the jury returned its verdict. Judge George Bakalis ordered a mental evaluation and set a status court date of March 10. Khan faces a one- to three-year prison sentence on the felony, though a lesser sentence is possible. A sentence date has not been set.
Khan created a Facebook page called "North Central Confessions," and in March 2013 had posted the message, "I bring a gun to school every day. Someday someone is going to p--- me off and end up in a bag."
At the time, Khan lived in Madison, Wis., and had never been a North Central student, though he had struck up a friendship with a female student.
The post alarmed college officials when they saw it on the unauthorized social media page and alerted police, who traced it to Khan.
His attorney, Stephen Richards, argued at the trial's outset Wednesday that Khan's message was indicative of his twisted sense of humor. Richards reiterated Thursday that Khan's post was foolish, but not criminal.
"He may be liable morally, ethically, maybe civilly, but he's not guilty of a crime," Richards told jurors in closing arguments.
The trial, the attorney said, might provide the wake-up call Khan needed to straighten up.
But Assistant State's Attorney Rob Willis said Khan missed his chance to straighten up in California. A Novato, Calif., police officer testified Wednesday that a 2010 Khan Facebook post listing people he most wanted to kill had drawn the attention of police. One of the people on the list was a teacher at the California high school Khan was then attending.
He was not charged in 2010, but received a school suspension, the police officer said.
"You don't get to just say these things...and then say, 'Sorry, I was just playing around,'" Willis told jurors.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
