A Rome teen arrested last September in connection with alleged threats of violence against a Rome City School has been found not guilty on all charges, a Floyd County Superior Court judge recently ruled. Nathaniel Porter Kozelle, who was charged with terroristic threats and acts and disrupting the operation of a public school, school bus, or school bus stop, was acquitted after Judge Bryan Johnson determined the state did not present enough evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The incident stemmed from September of last year when schools within the Rome City School System were placed on lockdown around lunchtime. Information regarding potential threats was discovered and shared with school system administrators, prompting the immediate safety measure.

Rome Police Department Investigators, working in conjunction with School Resource Officers, launched an immediate inquiry. Their investigation quickly determined that the individual allegedly responsible for the threats was not on campus at the time of the lockdown.

Kozelle was subsequently located at his residence, detained, and later booked into the Floyd County Jail on the aforementioned charges.

However, during recent court proceedings, Judge Bryan Johnson concluded that the prosecution failed to meet the high legal standard required for conviction, specifically that the state did not present enough evidence to find Kozelle guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, Kozelle was found not guilty on all counts, bringing an end to the legal proceedings stemming from the highly publicized school threat investigation.