JOHNSTOWN — The Licking County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Johnstown man Thursday afternoon for allegedly having weapons while under disability after the man allegedly made a threat directed at a school resource officer.
William S. Miller, 36, was allegedly present when his wife purchased a rifle on Sept. 23 and was seen handling the weapon, which led to the closing of Northridge Local Schools on Thursday. School was back in session Friday.
Officers arrested Miller following their discovery of unsettling comments he allegedly said over the phone.
Police said Miller directed his comments towards a Northridge High School school resource officer. Authorities later learned about Miller’s recent possession of an assault rifle.
“The comments were not directed toward students or the school, but they were directed at a Licking County Sheriff’s School Resource Officer assigned to the school,” Licking County Sheriff Randy Thorp said in a Facebook post.
“On September 24, 2025, deputies received additional reports involving the same individual, including that he had purchased or obtained a rifle, which he could not legally possess. Detectives promptly initiated an investigation, which confirmed the validity of the information.”
Thorp’s post said officers arrested Miller in Utica and are currently holding him at the Licking County Justice Center.
Safety: A top priority at Northridge Local Schools
“I can’t put the students and staff at any type of risk, knowing things that had been leading up to it,” Northridge Superintendent Brian Blum said.
Blum said officers’ discovery of his wife’s purchase of an AR-15 made his decision to close the district easy.
“In today’s world, I don’t think you could talk to anybody in any school that safety isn’t at the top of the list of things that you constantly think about and review,” Blum said.
News reports indicate there have been 53 school shootings this year, as of Sept. 23.
“So for us, obviously, the commitment to having an SRO [school resource officer] is a huge investment. That, alone, gets you connected to the sheriff’s department constantly, because there’s always someone from the sheriff department here, which is huge in going over the safety measures.”
Outside of having an SRO present, Blum said he and his staff have developed a routine to do their part in keeping everyone safe.
“It’s like a routine now where you just check to make sure the easiest low-hanging fruit in this is making sure doors are locked and shut,” Blum said.
I walk by and just push on a door to make sure it latched. I’ll pull on a door randomly to make sure it doesn’t open. Our maintenance people, our custodians, do that. Our teachers do that. It’s just something that people do now that’s so easy to prevent.
Northridge Superintendent Brian Blum
Miller’s prior charges
The Licking County Clerk of Courts’ office and the recent criminal complaint state that authorities released Miller on a $500,000 bond for prior charges on Sept. 17, 2025.
“The defendant, William Miller, was indicted on August 13, 2025, for three separate counts of aggravated trafficking in methamphetamine, one count of aggravated possession of methamphetamine and numerous other related charges in Licking County Court of Common Pleas,” the most recent statement of facts states.
On Sept. 23, Miller and his wife went to the Utica Feed and Hardware store, where Miller’s wife purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P AR-15 rifle.
The statement of facts noted that video recorded Miller handling the rifle prior to his wife purchasing it.
“Due to the indictment served upon the defendant for drug trafficking, the defendant is disabled from handling any firearms,” the most recent statement of facts states.