Teen accused in Landstown bomb plot 'hard to miss'

VIRGINIA BEACH

It was easy to spot Philip Bay in a crowd.

With his pale complexion, jet-black hair styled in a bob, and a black trench coat cloaking his wiry frame, the teen hardly blended in among peers at Landstown High School.

He wore black combat boots and once came to school outfitted in an ammunition belt lined with fake shell casings.

Students said that when he spoke, which wasn't often, he made anti-Semitic remarks or talked admiringly of the April 20, 1999, massacre at Columbine High School, where two student gunmen killed 12 classmates and a teacher before committing suicide.

The rampage fascinated Bay. But classmates said they never took his obsession seriously - until he was arrested April 6.

After receiving a tip, authorities searched the home Bay shared with his mother in the 2800 block of Saville Garden Way, less than 4 miles from Landstown. They said they discovered more than two dozen explosives. Bay was arrested and accused of plotting a Columbine-style attack at Landstown and booked into the city's juvenile detention center, where he's been held without bond for 3-1/2 months.

He missed his high school graduation June 20 and is set to go to trial Wednesday. Bay is charged with 10 counts of manufacturing and possessing an explosive device and one count of manufacturing an explosive device for use in a terrorist act.

Bay was 17 at the time and was charged as a juvenile, but Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant wants him tried as an adult. Bay turned 18 on Friday.

Officials have not released Bay's identity, but The Virginian-Pilot confirmed his name through interviews with numerous sources, including friends and neighbors. Juveniles accused of crimes are typically not identified unless they are tried as adults or the charges are extraordinary or heinous. The plot Bay is accused of had the potential to kill or injure dozens.

If he's tried as an adult and convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Bay declined to comment at the detention center Friday. His attorney and his mother also have declined requests for interviews.

Landstown is the city's newest high school and is home to the Technology Academy, which draws students from throughout Virginia Beach. It sits off Princess Anne Road near the Virginia Beach Amphitheater and serves the southwest region of the city.

Last year, the school had 2,404 students. Among them Bay was "kind of hard to miss," said Marlena Wesh, an 18-year-old who graduated this year. "Everyone always compared him to Professor Snape from Harry Potter because he did look just like him."

In the Potter series, Snape is an ill-tempered antagonist with a pale complexion and curtains of straight, black hair parted down the middle.

Bay didn't just look the part. He played it, too, Wesh said. Students described him as an "outcast," "a little weird" and "over in left field a little bit."

A MySpace profile appears to portray two sides of Philip Bay, who calls himself "Wolfie." The page is plain. There are no flashy graphics or bright colors, mostly black text on a white background. The only decoration is a photo depicting the teen in a black striped collared shirt. He's wearing a small smile and resting his head on his hand.

The profile describes a music-loving teen who sings in Landstown's Madrigal Choir, enjoys baroque-style music, and plays the harpsichord. It also says he likes watching "Star Wars" and the Discovery Channel and lists the Bible among his favorite books.

He writes about wanting to attend Tidewater Community College and maybe become a defense attorney.

An "About Me" blurb reads: "I can honestly say that I have been blessed to have been given such a nice life with so many good people. Basically, music is my second love, God is my first."

Friends on MySpace described Bay as a "pretty cool guy," a "regular Joe," and a "gifted young musician."

"He tried to get to know people," said Edward Bringas Vega, 18, a Landstown alumnus who lives next door to Bay and attended summer school with him.

"He was a little strange," said Melanie Cartwright, an 18-year-old who attended Landstown with Bay for three years before graduating last spring. "But a lot of my friends are strange. He's really smart, had a really weird sense of humor."

She said Bay was a history buff with a large vocabulary.

"He knew more about history than the average 17-year-old," she said. "He knew a lot about stuff."

Bay never talked about killing anyone or blowing anything up, Cartwright said, even when she spoke with him two days before his arrest.

"That's why I was shocked," she said. "Sometimes I think that he was really going to go through with it, not because he wanted to kill people, but because he wanted to be known for doing something like that."

The same MySpace page that talks about music hints at a darker obsession.

A quote next to Bay's photo reads, "Dear Mr. Policeman, call me God." A similar phrase was used by the Beltway snipers, who killed 10 and injured three during a D.C.-area shooting spree in 2002.

The profile lists the teen's heroes as Columbine shooter Eric Harris and "whoever invented gunpowder." Interests include "my trusty sawn-off shotgun Magdalena."

Videos on the MySpace page are titled "Pakistan's Gun Market" and "Hail Hitler, Hail Obama." The profile also displays the letters TCM, an abbreviation for Trench Coat Mafia, a group of high school outsiders the Columbine shooters affiliated with.

Bay's arrest in April was not the first sign of trouble.

"We've been having problems with him for a long time," said neighbor Daniel Wood, 61.

The trench coat-clad teen was often seen in a wooded area at the end of the street or strolling Saville Garden Way carrying a long knife, a Samurai sword or a BB gun, which he used to shoot birds. He used the weapons to impress the neighborhood kids, Wood said.

"He doesn't associate with people his own age," Wood said. "He usually associates with younger kids. He tried to impress them."

Some of the neighbors brought concerns to Bay's mother, but they had no effect, Wood said. She had a "not my son" mentality, he said. She alone financially supports Bay, so he was often home alone, he added.

Bay's attire got him in trouble at school a few times, said a friend. Landstown officials didn't like his trench coat or his ammunition belt, she said.

Two years ago, around the time of the Columbine anniversary, Bay was convicted of bringing a hoax explosive device to school. He served three months probation. School officials recommended him for expulsion, an anonymous source said. It's unclear why Bay was allowed to return to school. Virginia Beach City Public Schools officials said they do not comment on students' disciplinary records.

In the spring when police searched his home, they found 28 pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails and materials for making more weapons, said Battalion Chief Tim Riley, a spokesman for the Fire Department. The explosives were items that can be constructed from everyday materials such as glass bottles, gasoline, pipe sections and gunpowder.

"Every time we hear something about this kid, it gets worse," Wood said. "But I didn't think he'd go that far."

Bay wasn't planning to act alone, officials said.

Ten days after his arrest, police charged two other teens in connection with the alleged plot. Videos, cell phone recordings, a list targeting Lands-

town students, and other evidence collected at the three boys' homes implicated them, in addition to two sawed-off shotguns, prosecutors said.

One was a 16-year-old Landstown sophomore who lived in the Bayside High area but may have been attending Landstown's Technology Academy. The other, a 15-year-old former student, recently transferred to Kellam High School, a family friend said.

Police charged both with possessing and using a sawed-off shotgun and manufacturing and possessing multiple explosive devices for use in a terrorist act.

The 16-year-old also faces conspiracy charges. The previous week, he had been charged with bringing a razor blade to school. Police said they found the razor blade and a threatening letter in his possession April 7, after school officials reported smelling a flammable liquid on campus. Investigators found less than 2 ounces of the liquid, possibly gasoline, in a school restroom, but they couldn't connect the student to it, Riley said.

The 15-year-old reported the plot to his mother, and she told police April 5, the day before Bay was arrested, Michael Martens said.

Martens, the father of the 15-year-old's girlfriend, said Bay tried to recruit the teen to participate, and then began threatening him when he refused.

Police and prosecutors wouldn't say whether either of the two boys told police about Bay. They're being held in the city's juvenile detention center.

Evidence points to Bay as the chief conspirator against Landstown, said several officials connected to the case. Investigators collected cell phones, computers, notebooks and videos from the teens' homes.

"Certainly he was the oldest, and appears to have been the leader," Bryant, the commonwealth's attorney, said. "On the other hand... I don't think he hypnotized everybody, and when the evidence is ultimately presented in court, it's not going to appear that the other two codefendants were forced or seduced into participating."

Pilot writer Lauren Roth contributed to this report.

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com

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