SPOKANE, Wash. — Editor's note: The above video is from when Ryan Lee was arrested for the fourth time.
A Spokane County judge ruled Thursday the confession of a teenager accused of threatening to shoot students at Lewis and Clark School is no longer valid.
Ryan Lee, 19, is accused of making death threats to fellow students in 2018. He was 18 years old at the time.
On Thursday, a judge decided to throw out Lee's confession from his first arrest, where he allegedly made death threats.
Police pulled over Lee's mother during a traffic stop with Lee in the car. After they were pulled over, Lee's mother drove him to the public safety building where he was interviewed by detectives, where he offered a confession.
Lee's attorneys argued his confession was not obtained legally because he was detained without a warrant, making the arrest unlawful. Any statement from the arrest was in violation of Lee's constitutional rights, his attorneys argued.
A judge agreed and the confession will not be used as evidence in his upcoming trial.
Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell said in his 21 years practicing the law, he seen more evidence kept than thrown out, making the ruling to throw out Lee's confession somewhat rare.
But Haskell said confessions are like any other piece of evidence. They must be obtained legally.
In May 2018, a Lewis and Clark High School student reported to Spokane police that Lee messaged her, threatening to shoot students at school.
She also said he sent her inappropriate images. This led to Lee's arrest in June 2018. He was charged with harassment, cyber stalking and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
Since then, police have arrested Lee a total of four times. At one point, he violated his release conditions of having no access to social media and communication with minors.
Lee's trial is scheduled for Oct. 14.