Neil Prescott Update: Judge dismisses case of "joker" who allegedly threatened to shoot up his Md. workplace
(CBS/AP) UPPER MARLBORO, Md. - A judge has dismissed the case against a Maryland man accused of calling himself a "joker" and threatening to shoot his supervisor.
Prince George's County District Court Judge Patrice Lewis agreed Tuesday with a defense lawyer's argument that the court documents charging Neil Prescott are "defective" and unfairly vague.
Prescott was charged last year with misusing a telephone, a misdemeanor, after police said he told a co-worker that he would shoot his boss. Prescott's lawyer said he would show that the co-worker thought Prescott was joking.
According to CBS Baltimore, workers at Pitney Bowes didn't take the comment as a joke and Prescott was arrested. Police reportedly found he had a large collection of firearms and ammunition.
The station reports Prescott had a permit for the weapons.
The "joker" comment prompted particular concern because of the apparent reference to the mass shooting a week earlier during the midnight screening of a Batman movie in Aurora, Colo.