Zachary Cruz arrested for trespassing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High

The half-brother of Nikolas Cruz, who is charged with killing 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida on Valentine's Day, was arrested and charged with trespassing at the school on Monday.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office said in an arrest report that Zachary Cruz, 18, "surpassed all locked doors and gates and proceeded to ride his skateboard through school grounds" and told investigators that he visited the school to "reflect on the school shooting and to soak it in."







This kid made a HUGE mistake! Not a very smart move Zach. But DAMN they went in HARD on him. A $25 dollar trespass fine got turned into $500.000! Plus all the other things that were added on. Ankle bracelet monitoring, no further contact with Nik, another mental evaluation, etc. I think they are doing to Zach what should have been done to Nikolas over the past few years.  

Although I must say being over heard talking to your killer brother in jail about how many fan-girls are flocking to him and yourself is just a big NO-NO.  

You probably should've posted this in the shooting's subforum but whatever.
It seems a little harsh honestly.

InsaneIntruder wrote:

You probably should've posted this in the shooting's subforum but whatever.
It seems a little harsh honestly.

I really didn't know where to put it, as he didn't shoot anyone but is related to a shooter.


I agree that it is harsh, but its to be expected. He is the brother of someone who killed 17 people. They will throw the book at him if they can. The judge pretty much already did.

Given Nikolas's political views, I'm surprised he's black.

STK wrote:

Given Nikolas's political views, I'm surprised he's black.

I'm not sure just how much of Nikolas's released political views can be trusted. There has been so much crap posted about this
case that was later proven false.

Just saw on Tumblr that several "Cruzers" are trying to figure out if they can set up a GoFundMe account to pay for Zachary's $500.000 bond.

STK wrote:

Given Nikolas's political views, I'm surprised he's black.

To me, Nick is a lot like Atchison in the sense that both espoused white nationalism, but likely only for shock value rater than an honest belief in it.

QuestionMark wrote:

STK wrote:

Given Nikolas's political views, I'm surprised he's black.

To me, Nick is a lot like Atchison in the sense that both espoused white nationalism, but likely only for shock value rater than an honest belief in it.

True. Nikolas had once told his therapist that he liked to say things for the shock value.

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The system that failed to protect the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School from admitted mass shooter Nikolas Cruz cannot afford to make the same mistake with his brother, a Broward prosecutor argued Tuesday.

Zachary Cruz, 18, poses the same threat as his older brother — and his decision to trespass onto the Stoneman Douglas campus after school Monday is a warning sign that cannot be ignored, Assistant State Attorney Sarahnell Murphy said in court.

Weeks after his brother “murdered, injured and terrorized” the school, Zachary showed up on campus “with no legitimate purpose,” Murphy said. “He has all the same flags present as his brother.”

A judge set bond at $500,000 for Zachary and ordered a host of pretrial conditions more often seen in felony cases than misdemeanors. And before he is released from jail, police are to search his caretaker’s home in Lantana and remove all firearms.

Later on Tuesday the Broward Sheriff’s Office filed a petition for a “temporary risk protection order” under the state’s new gun law, identifying Zachary Cruz as someone who “poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself or others by having a firearm or any ammunition in his custody or control or by potentially purchasing, possessing or receiving a firearm.”

If granted, the order would give the sheriff’s office the legal authority to seize guns found in Cruz’s home and prevent him from purchasing or possessing a firearm for one year.

Deputies said one reason they are concerned with Zachary Cruz, according to the petition, is that they asked him his plans for the future and he responded, “I don’t know right now.”

Murphy told Broward County Judge Kim Mollica that it would be irresponsible to treat the new case as a typical trespassing infraction.

“His mother and father are deceased, his brother is incarcerated,” Murphy said. “When he was arrested, he gave a Parkland address where he does not reside.”

She added that the guardian Cruz lives with in Lantana, Rocxanne Deschamps, was in New York when he was arrested Monday and had no idea how or why he went to the school.

If Cruz is able to post a bond, he will be fitted with an ankle monitor to track his movements, Mollica said.

He will not be allowed within a mile of Stoneman Douglas or within 500 feet of any school campus. He is not to enter Broward County except for court-related business.

Defense lawyer Joseph Kimok objected to the bond amount, noting that a typical case of trespassing comes with a $25 bond.

Zachary Cruz “is being held because of who he is related to, not because of anything he did,” Kimok said. “The state has been seeking to make a show of this.”

STK wrote:

Given Nikolas's political views, I'm surprised he's black.

The white-supremacist claims have been debunked:
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Yet another Fake Nooz item making the rounds ... this story has been full of them.

Seems he's being reprimanded for political reasons. No one seriously believes he's a threat and if he really is a threat, he's no more of a threat than any of the other gazillion kids with difficult upbringings. Get him some help, not make him and everyone else believe he's a threat.

macks_ant86 wrote:

Seems he's being reprimanded for political reasons. No one seriously believes he's a threat and if he really is a threat, he's no more of a threat than any of the other gazillion kids with difficult upbringings. Get him some help, not make him and everyone else believe he's a threat.  

Agreed. It seems Zach is being harshly punished simply because he is Nikolas's brother, also because they let Nik slip through the cracks and it cost 17 lives.

While I do think Zach is a stupid kid for what he did, he isn't his brother. Being so tough on him isn't going to erase what his brother did, nor make up for the fact the whole system failed and Nik was overlooked.

Brutal USA justice system again.

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BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — Two brothers who share the same last name, now share a rap sheet in Broward County for crimes committed on the same high school campus.

We analyzed police records over the last 7 years the mentioned Zachary Cruz, his brother Nikolas or both brothers. We looked at law enforcement departments in Palm Beach County, Broward County and Coral Springs, and found a total of 57 times when either one or both brothers encountered law enforcement.

Zachary Cruz had 41 run-ins with law enforcement, almost two times more than his older brother Nikolas, who had 23 run-ins.

Zachary Cruz was investigated for things like running away from home, hitting his mom with a baseball bat, and refusing to go back to school after he was suspended.

A report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows Zachary Cruz plead guilty in 2016 for juvenile charges of grand theft, criminal mischief and petty theft.

Numerous incident reports reveal Zachary Cruz, like his brother Nikolas, suffers from ADHD. His mother also told deputies Zachary Cruz suffers from oppositional defiant disorder.

Shortly after Nikolas Cruz was arrested for the school shooting, Zachary Cruz was Baker Acted.







This whole thing just gets stranger as it goes along.

Zachary Cruz is going to go on a rampage one day, even if he cannot find a gun, he will probably find some other way to commit mass murder.

Ziamber II wrote:

Zachary Cruz is going to go on a rampage one day, even if he cannot find a gun, he will probably find some other way to commit mass murder.

I'm not sure if he's going to go on a rampage, but the odds are high that he's going to commit murder one day.

QuestionMark wrote:

Ziamber II wrote:

Zachary Cruz is going to go on a rampage one day, even if he cannot find a gun, he will probably find some other way to commit mass murder.

I'm not sure if he's going to go on a rampage, but the odds are high that he's going to commit murder one day.

I think since he screwed up with that trespassing stunt and is now under such harsh scrutiny, that he wouldn't get the chance to follow in his brother's footsteps by committing murder.

That whole system failed miserably, and they know it. SO they aren't going to take any chances on Zachary Cruz. Which is why a simple trespassing fine of $25 was turned into $500.000. Plus all the other things that they added on for good measure.

But as I said before coming down so hard on this kid isn't going to change the fact that they let Nik slid by for years until he finally snapped and killed 17 people.

In many years time, he would probably be able to get hold of some sort of gun anyway, gun controll in the USA dosen't really work like it should.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

QuestionMark wrote:

Ziamber II wrote:

Zachary Cruz is going to go on a rampage one day, even if he cannot find a gun, he will probably find some other way to commit mass murder.

I'm not sure if he's going to go on a rampage, but the odds are high that he's going to commit murder one day.

I think since he screwed up with that trespassing stunt and is now under such harsh scrutiny, that he wouldn't get the chance to follow in his brother's footsteps by committing murder. 

I don't know about a mass shooting like his brother but there are plenty of knives he could use, or a car, or his bare fists. It's not out of the question that he could kill his parents or an individual he hates once he gets through his current trespassing charge. He could also easily steal a gun; it is Florida after all.

Definatley a name to watch for the future....

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

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BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — Two brothers who share the same last name, now share a rap sheet in Broward County for crimes committed on the same high school campus.

We analyzed police records over the last 7 years the mentioned Zachary Cruz, his brother Nikolas or both brothers. We looked at law enforcement departments in Palm Beach County, Broward County and Coral Springs, and found a total of 57 times when either one or both brothers encountered law enforcement.

Zachary Cruz had 41 run-ins with law enforcement, almost two times more than his older brother Nikolas, who had 23 run-ins.

Zachary Cruz was investigated for things like running away from home, hitting his mom with a baseball bat, and refusing to go back to school after he was suspended.

A report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows Zachary Cruz plead guilty in 2016 for juvenile charges of grand theft, criminal mischief and petty theft.

Numerous incident reports reveal Zachary Cruz, like his brother Nikolas, suffers from ADHD. His mother also told deputies Zachary Cruz suffers from oppositional defiant disorder.

Shortly after Nikolas Cruz was arrested for the school shooting, Zachary Cruz was Baker Acted.







This whole thing just gets stranger as it goes along.

Wow, seen in that light it doesn't seem as excessive. Still, this is all just a big show in front of the cameras, going about it this way won't reform him and may have even him the notoriety he may have sought. The odds are that he'll commit another crime of some sort and end up in jail...again.

I'm just wondering, Cruz family seems nice, parents were okay with them, but how come that two brothers became so troubled.

Jea wrote:

I'm just wondering, Cruz family seems nice, parents were okay with them, but how come that two brothers became so troubled.

That is the million dollar question. Both kids seemed to have major issues with authority figures, and couldn't stay out of trouble.

QuestionMark wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

QuestionMark wrote:

Ziamber II wrote:

Zachary Cruz is going to go on a rampage one day, even if he cannot find a gun, he will probably find some other way to commit mass murder.

I'm not sure if he's going to go on a rampage, but the odds are high that he's going to commit murder one day.

I think since he screwed up with that trespassing stunt and is now under such harsh scrutiny, that he wouldn't get the chance to follow in his brother's footsteps by committing murder. 

I don't know about a mass shooting like his brother but there are plenty of knives he could use, or a car, or his bare fists. It's not out of the question that he could kill his parents or an individual he hates once he gets through his current trespassing charge. He could also easily steal a gun; it is Florida after all.

Well he couldn't kill his adoptive parents, as they are both deceased. The father passed away when Nikolas Cruz was 5, the mother died of flu complications in late November/early December of last year.

But it is clear that both the Cruz brothers had their own issues.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

I'm just wondering, Cruz family seems nice, parents were okay with them, but how come that two brothers became so troubled.

That is the million dollar question. Both kids seemed to have major issues with authority figures, and couldn't stay out of trouble.

I wish I knew a bit more about their biological parents, mby there is a answer.

Jea wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

I'm just wondering, Cruz family seems nice, parents were okay with them, but how come that two brothers became so troubled.

That is the million dollar question. Both kids seemed to have major issues with authority figures, and couldn't stay out of trouble.

I wish I knew a bit more about their biological parents, mby there is a answer.

I haven't found anything on their biological mother. Also the boys had different fathers.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

I'm just wondering, Cruz family seems nice, parents were okay with them, but how come that two brothers became so troubled.

That is the million dollar question. Both kids seemed to have major issues with authority figures, and couldn't stay out of trouble.

I wish I knew a bit more about their biological parents, mby there is a answer.

I haven't found anything on their biological mother. Also the boys had different fathers.

I also researched about her, but unsuccessful.

Jea wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

I'm just wondering, Cruz family seems nice, parents were okay with them, but how come that two brothers became so troubled.

That is the million dollar question. Both kids seemed to have major issues with authority figures, and couldn't stay out of trouble.

I wish I knew a bit more about their biological parents, mby there is a answer.

I haven't found anything on their biological mother. Also the boys had different fathers.

I also researched about her, but unsuccessful.

I have read that it is possible the Cruz family had kept in contact with this woman, at least for a little while. Then when she became pregnant again, they adopted Zachary and considered their family complete.

Not sure if they had contact after Zach's adoption or not.

I'm sorry but this woman just keeps getting more and more irritating. They should have had her read through that a few more times to make it even halfway believable.

She just seems to be a very shady type person. If she cared about Zach then why was she off doing interviews and had no idea where he was or that he had gotten into trouble?  I still think her only care is getting her hands on that inheritance.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

I'm just wondering, Cruz family seems nice, parents were okay with them, but how come that two brothers became so troubled.

That is the million dollar question. Both kids seemed to have major issues with authority figures, and couldn't stay out of trouble.

I wish I knew a bit more about their biological parents, mby there is a answer.

I haven't found anything on their biological mother. Also the boys had different fathers.

I also researched about her, but unsuccessful.

I have read that it is possible the Cruz family had kept in contact with this woman, at least for a little while.  Then when she became pregnant again,  they adopted Zachary and considered their family complete.

Not sure if they had contact after Zach's adoption or not.  

But I am sure she knows what her son done.

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Already heightened security will be bolstered Thursday at the Florida high school where last month's massacre occurred as Gov. Rick Scott ordered eight highway patrol troopers to assist with securing the grounds. That step came after the suspect's brother was arrested there, two students were caught carrying knives and another made online threats.

The troopers will be stationed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School indefinitely along with Broward County deputies, leaving an armed guard at every campus entrance point, Scott said in a statement. Before the shooting, the school was patrolled by one armed deputy and unarmed guards. An unspecified number of deputies, some armed with rifles, were added after the school reopened.

The strengthened security comes three days after suspect Nikolas Cruz's younger brother, Zachary Cruz, was arrested on trespassing charges. Deputies said he was found Monday riding his skateboard on campus after dismissal after being told to stay away.

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The brother of accused mass killer Nikolas Cruz argued in court papers Thursday that he is being unfairly held on inordinately high bail in the wake of his arrest for trespassing at the Florida school where 17 students were slain.

But prosecutors told a judge that there is adequate reason to consider 18-year-old Zachary Cruz a public safety risk.

The judge also ordered a search for weapons and ammunition at the Palm Beach County home where he is living with a family friend, and he is not to visit his brother in jail.

The sheriff’s office also filed for a risk protection order against Zachary Cruz in circuit court Tuesday under a new “red flag law” that was just signed by the governor last week. If a judge approves the request, Cruz would be involuntarily hospitalized for a mental health evaluation and barred from possessing firearms.






To bad all the "red flags" his brother was waving around was completely ignored.  

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Jea wrote:

I'm just wondering, Cruz family seems nice, parents were okay with them, but how come that two brothers became so troubled.

That is the million dollar question. Both kids seemed to have major issues with authority figures, and couldn't stay out of trouble.

Well based on what we know right now Nick was reported as being intellectually disabled and autistic, and judging from some of the behavior described in some news reports, possibly bipolar. If Zach has the same issues as his brother than his behavioral problems make sense.

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The “hysteria” that followed the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting cannot justify the “outrageous” bond imposed on Zachary Cruz in a misdemeanor trespassing case, his lawyer argued in court papers filed Thursday.

“Zachary Cruz should not be in a jail cell,” defense attorney Joseph Kimok said in a 17-page petition seeking a reduction in Cruz’s $500,000 bond. Kimok invoked the Constitution, the Founding Fathers and the Salem witch trials in his argument that the bond amount violated his client’s rights and cannot be allowed to stand.

“The Constitution is at its strongest when we are hurting and our emotions are frayed and we are tempted to lock up anyone that makes us feel even remotely uncomfortable,” he wrote.

Trespassing is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by 60 days in jail, and the standard bond in similar cases is $25, Kimok noted. Someone had posted the $25 the night Cruz was arrested, but he remained in custody for 15 hours before being brought to first appearance court to face Mollica.

“The state and the court simply acted as though the previous bond that Mr. Cruz had posted never existed,” Kimok wrote.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office said in an email Thursday that Cruz was held on the judge’s orders “to determine release conditions.”

“Every minute that Mr. Cruz has been held in the custody of the Broward Sheriff’s Office since posting his bond has been unlawful and unconstitutional,” Kimok wrote.

The conditions Mollica set, Kimok argued, were as outrageous as the bond. They included an ankle monitor, an order to stay a mile away from Stoneman Douglas and 500 feet from any school, no contact with his brother and no entry into Broward County except to see his lawyer or for court appearances.

But Kimok saved his strongest words for criticizing the bail amount. Mollica had already determined that Cruz was indigent, he noted, so there was no way he could afford to post a $500,000 bond.

He added that Cruz issued no threat, did not carry weapons onto the school campus and fully cooperated with the deputies who arrested him.

“There is no justice where the government seeks to hang a man for the crimes of his brother,” Kimok wrote.

But unlike the accused school schooter, Zachary Cruz committed no crime worthy of such a high bond and stringent pre-trial conditions, Kimok said.

The misdemeanor case is assigned to County Judge Mindy Brown, who has not set a date to rule on the motion.

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Authorities did not find either guns or ammunition Thursday when they searched the Lantana-area mobile home where Zachary Cruz has lived with a family friend, court records show.

They spoke to Rocxanne Deschamps, the woman with whom Zachary Cruz has been staying, and her son, Rock. Deschamps took in both Cruz brothers after their mother died last fall.

Rock Deschamps, 22, voluntarily signed a consent form for authorities to search their home, records show. They didn’t find either firearms or ammunition. Authorities searched the mobile home hours after the shootings Feb. 14 and found no weapons at that time as well.

Authorities spoke with Cruz that afternoon at Broward Health in Fort Lauderdale to inform him of the search. He told them he did not have firearms or ammunition “in his custody, care or control,” a Broward County sheriff’s deputy wrote. Investigators searched the mobile home hours after the shootings Feb. 14 and found no weapons or ammunition at that time as well.

Cruz is temporarily banned from possessing firearms or ammunition under a state law passed this month in the wake of the Parkland shootings to keep a person away from firearms and ammunition.

Broward County Judge Jack Tuter ordered the ban Wednesday, saying that Cruz poses “a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself" if he were to have access to firearms.

The order points out there is no evidence that Cruz owns a gun, but cited “reasonable cause” to believe Cruz might hurt himself if he got one. The judge is expected to consider the ban again at a hearing next month.

A judge ordered Cruz to undergo a mental health evaluation and set his bond at $500,000, an unusually high amount for the charge of trespassing on school grounds, a second-degree misdemeanor that typically results in a $25 bond.  Cruz remained in custody Monday.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Cruz is temporarily banned from possessing firearms or ammunition under a state law passed this month in the wake of the Parkland shootings to keep a person away from firearms and ammunition.

Only temporarily? That's odd.

QuestionMark wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Cruz is temporarily banned from possessing firearms or ammunition under a state law passed this month in the wake of the Parkland shootings to keep a person away from firearms and ammunition.

Only temporarily? That's odd.

Actually everything about the judge's ruling was odd and somewhat overreaching.