No Outcome Yet for Lindy HS Bomb Threat Suspect

The attorney for the Lindenhurst High School student accused by police of making a bomb threat at the high school said his client and her family are working with the Suffolk District Attorney's office to reach a "favorable disposition" for both sides.

Garden City Attorney Carmelo Garufi characterized the December 15 court appearance for Dominique Best, 16, as more a "conference" to continue talking, and anticipated the case would be put over for another date - which it was.

The case was adjourned until February 8, Garufi told Lindenhurst Patch on Friday, explaining that, "We're going back and forth with the DA's office to get this resolved and to come to an agreement for both sides, but we haven't arrived at one yet."

Best, who to a felony charge of falsely reporting an incident, in October was for allegedly making a to .

The DA's office declined comment on the Best case, and for Garufi's part, he said, "I'm providing the DA's office with information about her and what I perceive to be information that there wasn't any bomb threat."

In fact, the defense attorney further disputed the notion of a bomb threat.

"I understand the climate now, that it's a climate where things like this are taken very seriously. But I think this was something that was taken to the next level by the authorities," said Garufi.

And while he conceded that what she did was "foolish," he said there was no "illegal intent" and "never any intention" to cause a bomb scare.

"This was something texted into a school calculator, not broadcast over the Internet. There was no letter delivered to the school. There was no phone call to the school. There was an impression that the particular message would be erased at the time the calculator was shut off. There was never any intention for anyone to see the stupidity that was typed into it," he continued.

She thought anything typed into the scientific calculator would be erased, according to Garufi.

However, according to the , these calculators are sophisticated devices into which students can type words. Many scientific calculators also have a memory function, and could remain on if not shut down properly.

That’s how the message referencing a bomb threat, dated for October 18, was discovered by another student the previous week, according to the district.

Once the district became aware of the message and the threat, it followed protocol, and went to Suffolk Police.

Following an investigation First Precinct detectives Best on October 17. The district then canceled all emergency procedures for .

“We followed protocol, and we had to do what we had to do," Lindenhurst Superintendent Richard Nathan stated at the time she was "" by authorities. “We had to act on it."

In addition to the authorities being called, Garufi indicated that the school issued a suspension, but also said, "I'm not entirely sure." He also couldn't confirm if Best was back at the high school or at another school while her case was on-going.

"I understand the school district's reaction. But I want to emphasize that she's a person who's never had a problem with the law before, and who never caused any disruptions or issues in any of her classes for any of her teachers," he said, citing activities in which she's been involved - such as the school's anti-bullying program, the debate club and various fundraisers - that defined her as what he called "an excellent student."

In addition, according to Garufi, reference letters have been provided on her behalf by the school district.

"They've been very supportive of her," he noted.

In addition to the school's support, Best's received a lot of support from her family. And naturally, while Best and her family are upset at how this incident unfolded, and would like to put everything behind them, they understand the magnitude of the charge she's facing.

"They're obviously upset about what happened, and how it's come across in the media. But I'm heartened by the level of support she's received from her family," the defense attorney said.