Second teen pleads guilty in Landstown plot

VIRGINIA BEACH

One of the teens accused of plotting a Columbine-style attack on Landstown High School pleaded guilty to three charges Wednesday in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

The 16-year-old, who was a sophomore at Landstown, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, possessing a sawed-off shotgun and possessing weapons of terrorism with the intent to commit an act of terrorism.

Judge Randall M. Blow convicted the teen on the shotgun-possession charge and set sentencing for Sept. 22. He deferred a finding on the conspiracy and terrorism charges to Sept. 22 and ordered the teen to remain in custody without bond until that hearing.

Prosecutors dropped an unrelated charge, possession of a concealed weapon, which stemmed from an accusation that the teen brought a razor blade to Landstown High School in early April, Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant said.

He said there was no agreement regarding sentencing and refused to say whether the teen or a co-defendant would testify against Philip Bay, the 18-year-old Landstown senior accused of masterminding the plot.

Last week, Blow ruled that Bay could be tried as an adult in Circuit Court. Bay was 17 when authorities arrested him April 6 after they received an anonymous tip about the plot and searched his home.

There, they said, they found Molotov cocktails, pipe bombs, a list targeting Landstown students and videos showing him and the other teens plotting the attack. Bay's criminal record also includes a conviction in 2007 for bringing a hoax explosive to school.

The two younger suspects were arrested April 16. One, who has since turned 16, pleaded guilty last week to charges of possessing a sawed-off shotgun and possessing weapons of terrorism. The judge convicted him of the shotgun charge and set sentencing for Sept. 22. A finding on the weapons possession charge was deferred until that hearing date. The judge ordered him and Bay to remain in custody without bond.

Bryant has said a video seized from Bay's home showed the teens holding up a cell phone on about March 20 and saying it was a month before the Columbine anniversary. He said the teens had picked that date and a backup date for an attack.

In the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999, two student gunmen in Colorado killed 12 students and a teacher before committing suicide.

Prosecutors have evidence showing that the three Beach teens planned to die in a shootout with police or commit suicide, Bryant said.

Pilot writer Kathy Adams contributed to this report.

Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com