PORT ANGELES — A recently expelled Forks High School student will be arraigned Friday on a charge of felony harassment after he allegedly threatened to kill a female classmate last week during a science class.
Kelvin Richard Banks, 19, of Forks is scheduled to enter a plea to the charge at his arraignment in Clallam County Superior Court, Judge Christopher Melly ruled Monday.
Several witnesses in the classroom during fourth period March 6 said Banks became agitated and upset at the girl.
According to the probable cause statement filed by Forks Police Officer Julie Goode, Banks said, “I wanna hurt her. I want to kill her” after the girl confronted him about alleged sexual comments he had been making toward her and about him allegedly staring at her.
Banks told police he owned several firearms, according to the statement.
His Facebook page also contains photos of knives and guns, one of which appears to be a semi-automatic rifle. The photos date back to 2014.
A search warrant was executed at his home during which nine firearms were discovered, including an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in his bedroom, which under state law Banks can own.
The girl said she had been “having problems” with Banks since September over sexual comments he was making toward her.
She said the problems had occurred most recently since November after she told him to stop and that March 6 he would not stop staring at her.
She confronted him, and when the teacher refused to let her move her seat, she walked out of class, according to the probable cause statement.
Banks allegedly made the threatening comments to the girl, according to witnesses, one of whom was a friend who had warned the girl not to go near Banks.
“ ‘He wants to kill you,’ the friend told her,” according to the statement.
Banks, who according to the statement had made past comments about killing people and had access to multiple firearms, was expelled Wednesday after the girl’s parents complained to school officials, who investigated the classroom incident.
When Goode interviewed Banks, he said “I expected this,” and did not remember saying what was alleged “but that he does have anger issues and proceeded to punch the wall when he left the class,” according to the statement.
Two search warrants were executed on Banks’ home.
Under the first search warrant, firearms were removed from his bedroom as well as high-capacity magazines and homemade gunfire suppressors made of plastic bottles and green foam.
Under the second search warrant, police discovered what Police Chief Mike Rowley said Monday was mischaracterized in the statement as a handwritten “manifesto.”
Banks had titled what he wrote as “Reckoning Day” and “Past Life,” according to the probable cause statement.
In it, Banks allegedly describes getting into a shootout, killing a man and dismembering him, and being in a gang and blowing up his own house.
He also allegedly describes carrying around a revolver “so he won’t need knives anymore” and using sharpened pencils as weapons at school, according to the probable statement.
Rowley said there was no evidence that Banks had or was planning to get into a shootout or kill and dismember a man, or that Banks was going to blow up his house “when the cops go in,” according to what Banks allegedly wrote.
“At this point, it wouldn’t be a manifesto,” Rowley said.
“This could be just a fictional fantasy mindset,” he added.
“Our country is in despair with all these school shootings, Parkland [Florida], and all over the country.
“When we sent out the document, we said, OK, this may establish his mentality and it may not be fictional.
“We wanted this to be taken very seriously.
“The unfortunate part about this is, he did make a threat to a student.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
