Student banned from Millersville campus

A Millersville University student with a history of disruptive behavior has been banned from the Lancaster County campus after he allegedly made terroristic threats that prompted an almost two-hour lockdown on Tuesday.

Joel A. Yodis, 24, of Phoenixville, a philosophy major, will not be permitted to return "until further notice," Janet E. Kacskos, Millersville's director of communications, said yesterday.

Yodis was charged by university police on Tuesday with terroristic threats and disorderly conduct, and was released yesterday after posting $50,000 bail.

Kacskos said the lockdown occurred after Yodis allegedly threatened to kill another student, who then sent an e-mail to a professor expressing fear about going to class. The professor contacted the university police.

The incident, in conjunction with "other erratic behavior" by Yodis, convinced the university that "there was some risk" to students, Kacskos said, and that Yodis would be located faster if the campus were locked down. She said she could not elaborate for reasons of student and police confidentiality.

Yodis, a senior whose graduation date is listed as May 2009, was found in the library as a result of a student tip and did not resist being taken into custody, according to Kacskos. He did not have a gun as some students had feared, she said.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 10 before Magisterial District Judge Leo H. Eckert Jr.

Lancaster County prison officials turned Yodis away Tuesday night, saying he required a psychiatric evaluation, the Associated Press reported. It wasn't until yesterday that authorities realized he had been sent to a hospital, not to jail, Eckert said.

According to court records, Yodis pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct last April 13 for an incident on campus on April 5 and paid a $221.50 fine. Kacskos said she had no information on the incident. University police declined comment.

Court records also show that Yodis pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in June 2003 in East Pikeland Township, Chester County, and paid a $310 fine.

On a Web site for "I Hate Dave," described as a "self-destructive punk band from the suburbs of Philadelphia," Yodis is listed as a vocalist.

The shows ended in early 2003 after the band was kicked out of a church. However, the members have continued collaborating, the Web site said.

A posting on Tuesday said the group is "standing 100 percent behind Joel Yodis," calling him "one of the kindest, most loyal people you could ever hope to meet."