Judge: Searches were legal in Landstown bomb plot investigation

VIRGINIA BEACH

Authorities legally seized bombmaking components and other items during searches of the home of a teen accused of plotting an attack on Landstown High School, a judge has ruled.

Circuit Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr. denied motions Wednesday by Philip Bay's attorneys to suppress the evidence seized from his home on Saville Garden Way, saying authorities obtained consent for a search April 5 and followed proper procedure in getting a search warrant April 6. The judge also denied a request for a change of venue for Bay's trial.

Bay has been in custody since April 6 and is charged with multiple bomb and terrorism-related charges. Authorities have accused him of masterminding a plot involving two other teens to carry out an attack at Landstown similar to the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado.

Authorities have said they seized a sawed-off shotgun, dozens of pipe bombs, a list naming students at Landstown High and videos of the three teens rehearsing the bombing.

The other suspects were 15 and 16 when investigators discovered the plot. They are awaiting sentencing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Both pleaded guilty to possessing a sawed-off shotgun and weapons of terrorism.

Bay was 17 when he was arrested, but he turned 18 in July. Prosecutors are trying him as an adult. He and one of his co-defendants were students at Landstown; the third teen was a former student.

During Wednesday's hearing, a fire investigator and a police officer testified that Bay adamantly refused to let them search his home April 5. Bay's mother, Lisa, initially refused to allow the search but eventually told them to "do what you got to do," according to testimony.

Philip Bay then volunteered to go to his bedroom, where he pointed out pipes, fuses, sulfur, which he had stolen from Landstown High, and other components. Fire investigator Donald Moss testified he took the items with permission from Bay and his mother.

The next morning, Moss and another investigator inspected the items and decided to return to the house to search for additional evidence.

Lisa Bay testified she never consented to a search of her son's room.

On the witness stand, she carefully crafted her answers regarding her knowledge of guns and chemicals in her home, and she tried to defer to her son's attorneys, James Broccoletti and Eric Korslund.

When Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant asked whether she had a friend retrieve sawed-off shotguns from her attic after authorities left April 5, Lisa Bay replied that she never used those words.

Before leaving the stand, Lisa Bay looked at her son. He shook his head and looked away.

Minutes later, the judge issued his decision denying the defense motions. He described the investigators' testimony as "clear and unequivocal" and described Lisa Bay's testimony as "selective recall."

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