Cheryl A. Strong listens as lawyers, judge, decide her sentence.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – The 7-year-old boy was crying, soaking wet and knocking on stranger’s doors asking for help, according to Jacob Clark.
The child was dropped off by a school bus driver in a neighborhood not his own in Packwood and his 48-year-old mother found him after an hour and a half of searching, Clark said.
Cheryl A. Strong left an angry voice message at White Pass school, so alarming the building was placed in lockdown for three hours the following morning when it was heard. So alarming, she was charged and convicted of two felonies and then sentenced this week to three years plus two months in prison.
“The school screwed up; so did my client,” defense attorney Clark said. “She never intended to hurt anyone. If this wasn’t the school she called, we never would have been in court.”
It took a jury less than three hours to find the former grocery store clerk guilty earlier this month of one count each of felony harassment, threats to kill, the school secretary and Rebecca Miner, the district superintendent.
The words that got her jailed: “Sorry Chris, but I’m going to f****** shoot everybody that goes to your f****** school, works there,” according to court documents.
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey said he understood the frustration but the phone call led to a lot of fear and trepidation for elementary school children, who don’t understand what’s happening or why.
Brosey said he didn’t understand how the boy was let off at an address other than his new address, but that schools do the best job they can.
“School staff should not have to put up with that kind of abuse,” Brosey said to the mother as she awaited to hear her fate.
He sentenced Strong to 38 months, the middle of the standard sentencing range for her offenses.
Lewis County Deputy Prosecutor Mark McClain asked for two consecutive terms of 43 months, the top of the range. Because of the jury’s special finding the crime affected more than the two victims named, the judge was free to give her the maximum of two five year sentences, one to be served after the other.
Clark had told the judge the circumstances didn’t justify that much time, and noted if his client didn’t have some convictions from when she was younger, the case may have merited about six to 12 months in jail.
It happened in March when the household was in the process of moving from a home on U.S. Highway 12 to another about seven miles away up in the High Valley neighborhood.
Christy Collette, the school secretary, said Strong had changed their address with the school and told them they were going to be moving.
Collette said never was she worried that day the boy was not on the right bus, and that she spoke to Strong that afternoon telling her he was on the other bus and said if Strong didn’t find him, to call her back.
Strong told her son to tell the bus driver he was to get let off at the old bus stop that day, according to the judge.
According to Clark, the child was let out in the High Valley neighborhood at a third address, and wandered around, asking strangers for help until his mother located him.
Strong left the phone message that got her into trouble.
The following morning, school employees ordered a lockdown as soon as they heard it; sheriff’s deputies responded about 7:45 a.m. to the East Lewis County school.
Just before 11 a.m., after Strong had phoned and asked about picking up her son since it was in lockdown, she was told to come on in and she was taken into custody by a waiting deputy. She was not armed.
Her lawyer asked the judge at sentencing on Monday afternoon to consider what his client had experienced the afternoon prior.
“The day before, no one was around to let Ms. Strong know where her child was,” he said. “Apparently no one’s around at 3:41 (p.m.), so Ms. Strong panicked.
“Did she say something stupid? Absolutely.”
Clark agreed the following day it had an impact on a large number of people, but said law enforcement knew Strong was not at the school, he said.
He noted how over the past dozen years, three large scale traumatic events have occurred involving schools and guns.
“If this wasn’t a school, we probably wouldn’t be here; but it was was,” he told the judge.
White Pass School District Superintendent Miner declined to explain what occurred with the bus ride home that day, noting that she’d given her testimony during the trial.
“I would just say, the school district has the safety of all our students in mind,” she said in a brief telephone interview. “We are always looking to improve.”
Miner said she wouldn’t comment any more specifically, when asked if anyone was reprimanded.
Strong was taken into custody immediately following Monday’s hearing; the judge allowed for a $250,000 appeal bond.
The little boy is with his father having gotten picked up soon after his mother’s arrest and taken to Tuscan, Arizona. A family court hearing is set for tomorrow, and Strong has indicated she wants her family members to step in, as she doesn’t feel that’s a safe place for him, according to the deputy prosecutor and the judge.
Before she was led to the jail, she told the court she was sorry.
“I’d like to apologize for the results of my actions,” Strong said. “I was afraid for my son, I was scared.
“I didn’t mean or intend to hurt anyone.”
•••
For background, read “Packwood bus mixup: Mad mom will get to simmer off behind bars” from Tuesday May 6, 2014, here
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
@REPUBLICAN LOGGER, UR TOTALLY WRONG ON BOTH COUNTS–I STOPPED WHEN I MOVED TO THIS STATE,,BUT BEFORE,I VOTED REPUBLICAN,,AND I DONT RECEIVE ASSISTANCE AT ALL,I WORK MY ASS OFF PROVIDING FOR MY CHILD,,, AND NOONE KNEW AT THE TIME IF SHE WOULD OF CARRIED OUT HER THREATS!! AND U KNOW WHAT? IT DOESNT MATTER WHAT Y’ALL THINK,SHES IN PRISON,WHERE SHE BELONGS,,OH YEAH,DONT FORGET ,SHE WAS A FELON BEFORE THIS HAPPENED
F#%kin lewis county- GOP island the g standing for gilligan of course. Lol
Bla, bla, bla. You guys crack me up sometimes, always getting so riled up, “This is an OUTrage!!!!, travesty!!, blala bla, bloop. It would take the same amount of time to send an e-mail to lets say, a governor, senator, or congress person as it does to post on this here thread.
All their steps, rules, procedures, &c do not add up to justice, basic decency or, more particularly and disturbingly, the WELFARE OF THE CHILD involved in this case. It is cases like this that degrade respect for and trust in the entire legal system and its officers. How is any of us to suppose WE would get justice were we arraigned by such a system?
Finally, where did they get the jurors who colluded in this travesty? From the overnight camps at Borst Park?
Hey Republician Logger. Don’t insult us Democrats., or Independants.
BB is in a world of her own. Just ignore the ranting. Spend your time & energy on more important items. I would like to know what if anything was said to the bus driver. It all started with his bad judgement & went downhill from there.
How many want to bet that “Bustybabe” votes democrat (if she even votes at all) and that she recieves some sort of government assistance….????
Sharyn, perhaps you could help out us readers… could you please get an interview with the bus driver? Even if it is anonymous, it might help us understand why nothing is being said about the driver. Thanks!
Bustybabe, exactly whose life did she put in danger? Yes, they felt threatened, and rightly so, but there is no indication she actually intended to carry out her very stupid threats. Does she deserve punishment? Yes!, but not this much.
Also, I am with those asking what action is being taken against the idiot bus driver and the school district that employed him?
TOTAL OVERKILL~ Lewis County again spends HUGE $ on BULL! Let’s spend MILLIONS on the RIFF RAPE TRIAL while Riff is already sitting in prison for life. These turds can’t get nutt’n right! OMG!
TO THE ONES SAYING THE SENTENCE WAS TOO HARSH–BULLS**T!! THIS WOMAN NOT ONLY PUT THE SCHOOL EMPLOYEES LIFE IN JEOPARDY, SHE PUT ALL THE CHILDREN’S LIFE IN JEOPARDY AS SHE THREATENED EVERYONE AT THE SCHOOL! MY CHILD IS A STUDENT AT W.P. AND WAS ON LOCK DOWN FOR 3 HOURS BECAUSE OF THE THREAT,,I AM GLAD SHE GOT WHAT SHE GOT AND I AM PROUD OF THE W.P. SCHOOL DISTRICT AND THE LEWIS COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPT.FOR THE SWIFT ACTION THEY TOOK IN MAKING THE SCHOOL SAFE
GetReal – the prosecutor asked for EIGHTY TWO months! That is far more than most criminals are getting for much harsher crimes.
This is about equity. No one said she was innocent, just that the sentence did NOT fit the crime. You obviously do not have children – most of us WOULD get angry… VERY angry at having a little guy dropped off in the country miles from home. Maybe most of us would NOT make threats – but we would think them, i guarantee it.
Wow… Why are so many of you ok with a person threating a school with f’n killing everyone who goes to that school? That is a statement on the verge of psychosis. Hello… Maybe you would feel differently if you had gotten a call from your daughter telling you she was in lock down and did not know why. Thank you Whitepass for taking the threat seriously, because I sure would have been f’n out of my mind if my daughter would have been shoot for something she had NOTHING to do with. And praise to the judge for the sentence it is absolutely spot on. Pray to God I never get another phone call like that as long as I live i’ll tell you one thing for sure.. I would NEVER threaten an entire school for something that could be taken care of at the bus garage. For those of you that think this sentence is to harsh have your child call you to find out why she is in lock down, only to discover a woman has threatened to shoot everyone at the f’n school and then have pity on the poor woman who makes mistakes after mistakes…DO THE CRIME DO THE TIME. I can also just about guarantee that nobody (in there right mind) has had problems like that with the WPS bus garage. Hello Lewis County we have a meth/pill problem here in Lewis county and I’m tired of it affecting my life.
I can’t believe she got that much time! A pedophile who scars children for life gets less time! What is that! Sad she is spending so much time in jail for this, my kids were on the bus that day and her son told him many times that he hasn’t moved and he saw his moms car when they passed at their old house. The bus driver Robert made him get off without even calling the school to make sure. He should never have made Kris get off the bus.
Wow very overkill. High paid idiot judges are moronic idiots who think that know what’s best. And that don’t a mother protecting her young is not a crime
A school bus driver neglecting to follow rules and protocols and putting a kids life in danger is a crime
She earned her 38 months by building points under the SRA ( sentence reform act ) where each felony conviction adds points. As the points accumulate the standard sentence range goes up. Thats why when you see two people sentenced for the same crime and one gets years in prison and one gets days in jail. The more felonies you commit the harsher the sentence. The next one will probably get her a full ride. You earn what you get.
Brosey’s a nitwit, the prosecutor’s a nitwit, the school staff are nitwits, and the bus driver should go to prison for child endangerment. The mother has a temper and should have been fined and given community service. For pete’s sake, you can kill somebody and get less time in this county!
Wow seems a little harsh for not actually doing anything serious maybe 10 days in jail with 60 public service. You are supose to freak out if ur kid is lost but I think the school may have taken it a little serious coming from packwood.
She desirves what she got. And couldn’t BS her way out of it.
Maybe if she was’t jacked up on Meth everyday she would be able to fuction properly. Not to mention take care of her son.
Prison is not a new thing for this woman. And losing her child is not new either.
Don’t feel sorry for her.
Three years in prison is an overkill sentence. Leaving a threatening message at a school is a crime but she would have gotten the message with 1 year in the county jail.
I too wonder what the past convictions were. If they were felonies then sentencing guidelines call for more time.
Now just because the mom has been convicted for her mistake the school district needs to be examined and have sanctions. No one will get prison time but there needs to be a civil judgment. In many cases it takes a tragedy (or near tragedy) in order to get a large district to make needed changes.
The real victim here is the little guy who was dropped off in a neighborhood he did not know, and now has to be uprooted and sent to live with another parent. This will entail a lot of court battles over the next few years as people try to get legal custody of him.
Guaranteed his final home will be in question for many years to come. No real winners in this entire case.
1st- What kind of punishment is the school going to get for their error? Had the little boy gotten lost and frozen to death in the woods, who would have been liable?
2nd- Altgough I UNDERSTAND the mom’s rage and frustration, threats to kill are NOT protected by free speech.
3rd- No one wins here. She is in jail. The boys had to move across the country away from friends. It’s a black eye for the school, and the county justice system looks like a big bully who is using a distraught mother ad an example.
Wrong as it was for her to leave the message she should have worded better. 3 years is way out of line for one message left by an upset mother. The most she should have received in my opinion is one year suspended providing no similar infractions, standard fine and anger management evaluation/classes.
But yet a mother can rape her own son and be out walking free??? WTF Lewis County needs to revamp of all judges/prosecutors/commissioners ASAP!!!! Is there not someone who can point this county in the right direction..
This woman was scared to death for her child and it was the school and bus drivers fault! Why are they not being charged with child endangerment and neglect?
ITS NOT FREEDOM OF SPEACH WHEN YOU THREATEN SOMEONES LIFE
Brosey sucks. Hope I don’t get jail time for that. This is reprehensible. Apparently freedom of speech only applies to those in power. I am very sad for her and her son. What about him Family Law Judge???
This is terrible. As a mother myself, I can completely understand why that mother flipped out. She was clearly beside herself and not thinking clearly. She made a poor choice, it DOES NOT warrant jail time. Now her child will suffer without his mommy for three years while she serves time for trying to protect him. This is messed up.
I am a school bus driver and never would have dropped a 7 yr old off with no parent to receive him! This driver should be fired! Asking a few questions to the child and radio your supervisor if you have questions, always error on the side of caution with children! Also love knowing that we live in a county where I rarely see justice served to those who actually deserve it. I have seen child rapists get 3 days in county, drug dealers get NO time as long as they flip, and a man break a woman’s face and get no time. But don’t make an angry call after the school messes up! What a scam to use the media!
I agree, this is over the top. A nice long time on probation, a fine, maybe a month in the county jail, would have made the point to her and everyone else just fine. No one was hurt, and she actually had no intention of hurting anyone, that we know of. On the other hand, her earlier convictions did not help her case any.
Look at what the persecutor wanted. 86 months, over seven years, for a phone call!!!! You have to understand prosecutors. They thrive on destroying people’s lives. It is never about justice for a persecutor, it is about how much punishment they can dish out. The less the convicted deserves the prison time, the more time they want. There are lots of comparisons, like they Toledo Pharmacy robbers who got nine months and this case.
A couple of things in this article caught my attention. Here’s the first:
“Clark had told the judge the circumstances didn’t justify that much time, and noted if his client didn’t have some convictions from when she was younger, the case may have merited about six to 12 months in jail.”
Anyone else curious what those convictions were? At first glance I thought the sentence was a little harsh, but maybe the priors had something to do with it.
And then there’s this little gem from Rebecca Miner:
“I would just say, the school district has the safety of all our students in mind,” she said in a brief telephone interview. “We are always looking to improve.”
Was she reading that standard-issue piffle from the Little Red Book of Bureaucrats? What did the district do with the bus driver?
Guess there wasn’t a stock answer for that one.
Nobody comes out looking good in this one.
ive seen cho mo’s get less time its time we vote out these toads we call judges and DA’s what a waist the kid gets on the wrong bus and looses his mother
This is a travesty. Both the judge and the prosecutor should have ther heads examined. 3+ for a stupid phone call? What do they think they are preventing another sandy hook or something? I pray this gets overturned upon appeal.
Backwords …jerry Lewis county strikes again…. sssooo wrong
She should have never threatened to shoot everyone. However
What kind of trouble is the school in?? She trusted
These people to care for her child , and he was left
To Rome around the streets. I think I would’ve been irate as well.
Community service or something I can understand . But prison time?
What a waist of tax payers $$. You punished her for trying to protect her child and be a good mother. That’s just no right..
Wow….we have people convicted of sex crimes that get county time and a rightfully anger mother gets 38 months in prison. And yes, I know what she did was wrong and deserves punishment but under the circumstances I disagree with the lengthy sentence. She made a death threat that had no validity and was more of a poor choice of words from an angry mother. I am curious what kind of convictions she had in her past, knowing that info may very well change my opinion. Either way I think the bus driver should be fired.
I still don’t understand WHO thought it was a good idea to tell the students that someone was going to come to the school and shoot everyone. The children don’t need that kind of stress. 🙁
Did no one care for the wet, crying little boy? Three houses, and no help?
This is really unfortunate all around but the obvious message here is don’t threaten to shoot up a school. 38 months in the joint is no joke, hopefully this woman will learn something from this and go on to better things in her life.