‘Thug life’ at school
Published 9:54 pm Thursday, May 16, 2013
The 20-year-old high school junior arrested in connection with a bomb threat written on a bathroom wall at King’s Fork High School isn’t unfamiliar with the law, court records show.
Abdul Dshawn Dixon is accused of writing the threat that was found about 1 p.m. Tuesday. On his Facebook page, he calls himself a member of the “Bomb Squad” and frequently shares pictures of marijuana and illustrations that depict people shooting other people.
The Tuesday incident followed a string of similar threats at the high school, as well as at King’s Fork Middle and Lakeland high schools.
Police have not said whether Dixon is a suspect in those other threats.
Dixon already is known to police in Suffolk and Chesapeake. He pleaded guilty in Suffolk Circuit Court in June 2012 to a misdemeanor charge of entering property to damage, which had been reduced from a charge of statutory burglary.
The incident took place June 30, 2011, when he and two accomplices burglarized the Quicky Mart in the 1300 block of East Washington Street just after 12:30 a.m.
Police received a burglar alarm and responded to the business, where they saw one of the suspects running away. Inside, they found Dixon hiding in a closet with a sock in his mouth. He told a police officer he had been kidnapped and forced into the business but later admitted he and the other two had planned to break into the store.
He was sentenced to a year in jail with nine months suspended.
In addition, Dixon pleaded guilty in Chesapeake General District Court in November 2011 to charges of shoplifting and failure to appear. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail with 75 suspended. The fines for both charges are past due, according to online court records.
Photos shared on his Facebook page reveal some of his apparent interests — marijuana, Batman, the “thug life” and flashing the middle finger.
He shared an illustration that says, “I’m a pothead. It’s no secret. Everyone knows that.” In another photo that appears to be of him, his eyes are bloodshot and another person commented, “Baked.” Dixon replies with, “You know it.”
He also shared a photo, which appears to be a doctored screenshot from the TV game show “Wheel of Fortune,” in which the puzzle reads, “Kill people. Burn s—. F— school.”
![This image from Facebook is posted on Abdul Dshawn Dixon’s profile. Three others were tagged in the “Bomb Squad” photo.](https://www.suffolknewsherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2013/05/Bomb-Squad-300x295.jpg)
This image from Facebook is posted on Abdul Dshawn Dixon’s profile. Three others were tagged in the “Bomb Squad” photo.
A Suffolk Public Schools administrator said Thursday it is not unheard of for 20-year-old students to be attending high school.
By law, all students can attend public schools tuition-free until the end of the school year in which they turn 20, Assistant Superintendent Kevin Alston said. Mandatory attendance, however, ends at age 18.
Students who are involved in a special education program can attend until the end of the school year in which they turn 22, by provision of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Alston added.
Dixon turned 20 on Feb. 12. It is not known whether he was in a special education program.
Alston said the school division is not able to transfer older students to an alternative program unless there is some other issue that would call for that.
“How can I do that when the law says that they can go there?” he said.