[UPDATED with Charges:] Michael Burke McHugh, Recording Engineer, Held After Allegedly Saying He Had Gun at Estancia High
Categories: Crime-iny, School Daze
See the update at the end of this post about the charges filed against the man.
ORIGINAL POST, FEB. 15, 4:28 P.M.: A man police say had a restraining order preventing him from contact with his daughter demanded that staff at Estancia High School in Costa Mesa turn her over to him this afternoon.
Bad move.
Michael Burke McHugh then mentioned he had a gun.
Worse move.
In these days of mass shootings on school campuses, staffs have been trained on how to respond to such threats. For McHugh, that meant being immediately restrained by multiple staff members until cops arrived within minutes of the 12:50 p.m. call, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.
Estancia High, which is at 2323 Placentia Ave., was immediately placed on emergency lockdown.
Officers took McHugh into custody without incident, and the 35-year-old was found to have a replica firearm on him, reads a statement from police Lt. Tim Schennum, who adds the suspect complained of an injury and was taken to a local hospital.
The lockdown was later lifted, and criminal charges against McHugh are pending.
UPDATE, FEB. 21, 3:16 P.M.: Michael Burke McHugh has been charged with and pleaded not guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, two other felonies and a misdemeanor for allegedly violating a court order to stay away from the girl at Estancia High School.
McHugh entered his not guilty plea Wednesday. The gun he is said to have mentioned to school staff turned out to be a BB gun.
He is a recording engineer and known in the music industry for his studio The Distillery in Costa Mesa, regarded as one of the few remaining analog-only studios in the digital age. Black Lips, Mika Miko, Cheap Time, The Growlers and The Strange Boys are among the acts that have recorded at The Distillery.
Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
 |
Bad move.
Michael Burke McHugh then mentioned he had a gun.
Worse move.
In these days of mass shootings on school campuses, staffs have been trained on how to respond to such threats. For McHugh, that meant being immediately restrained by multiple staff members until cops arrived within minutes of the 12:50 p.m. call, according to the Costa Mesa Police Department.
Estancia High, which is at 2323 Placentia Ave., was immediately placed on emergency lockdown.
Officers took McHugh into custody without incident, and the 35-year-old was found to have a replica firearm on him, reads a statement from police Lt. Tim Schennum, who adds the suspect complained of an injury and was taken to a local hospital.
The lockdown was later lifted, and criminal charges against McHugh are pending.
 |
| Mike McHugh of The Distillery |
McHugh entered his not guilty plea Wednesday. The gun he is said to have mentioned to school staff turned out to be a BB gun.
He is a recording engineer and known in the music industry for his studio The Distillery in Costa Mesa, regarded as one of the few remaining analog-only studios in the digital age. Black Lips, Mika Miko, Cheap Time, The Growlers and The Strange Boys are among the acts that have recorded at The Distillery.
Follow OC Weekly on Twitter @ocweekly or on Facebook!
Email to Friend
Write to Editor
Print Article
