Exclusive: 7NEWS Uncovers Evidence In School Threat
One Of Three Teens Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy
One of three Fort Collins junior high school students accused of plotting an attack on a school pleaded guilty Tuesday to a conspiracy charge.
The 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. His was a less serious charge than the other two boys as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Prosecutors said that the three boys drafted plans and gathered weapons that could have been used to attack Preston Junior High School.
The boy could face up to 45 days in a youth offender program or community service. His sentencing is scheduled for March 28.
The three boys and four girls who turned the suspects in have all known each other for some time, 7News reporter Ronda Scholting said.
At first, the girls believed that the plan to attack their school was just talk.
But when one of the suspects allegedly threatened to put one of the girls on their so-called victims' list, the girls called police, Scholting said.
Dozens of students at Preston Junior High apparently knew about the plan to attack the school, investigators said.
Investigators said that the three boys who allegedly were planning to "redo" Columbine were trying to recruit their friends to help.
But not everyone saw what was found in one boy's locker -- drawings that police said are diagrams showing where someone with a gun could stand during the attack.
Also found was a drawing which, a source told 7News, depicts a stairway and what it would look like after the attack was over, with bodies hanging from it.
Police said that a search warrant turned up a propane tank and at least six guns at one boy's home. Sources told 7News that one girl had a loaded gun pulled on her at the home, and that one of the boys fired shots over several teenagers' heads.
The decision to call police didn't come until weeks later though, when the group of friends had a falling out and one of the suspects allegedly threatened one of the four girls, Scholting reported.
The attorney for one of the boys said that his client never intended to carry out the plan.
The principal at Preston Junior High said that he never would have believed the three would harm their classmates.
But everyone seems to agree that in the days after Columbine, just talking about something like this is very dangerous -- not to mention having the plans and the weapons to carry it out, Scholting said.
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The 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. His was a less serious charge than the other two boys as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Prosecutors said that the three boys drafted plans and gathered weapons that could have been used to attack Preston Junior High School.
The boy could face up to 45 days in a youth offender program or community service. His sentencing is scheduled for March 28.
The three boys and four girls who turned the suspects in have all known each other for some time, 7News reporter Ronda Scholting said.
At first, the girls believed that the plan to attack their school was just talk.
But when one of the suspects allegedly threatened to put one of the girls on their so-called victims' list, the girls called police, Scholting said.
Dozens of students at Preston Junior High apparently knew about the plan to attack the school, investigators said.
Investigators said that the three boys who allegedly were planning to "redo" Columbine were trying to recruit their friends to help.
But not everyone saw what was found in one boy's locker -- drawings that police said are diagrams showing where someone with a gun could stand during the attack.
Also found was a drawing which, a source told 7News, depicts a stairway and what it would look like after the attack was over, with bodies hanging from it.
Police said that a search warrant turned up a propane tank and at least six guns at one boy's home. Sources told 7News that one girl had a loaded gun pulled on her at the home, and that one of the boys fired shots over several teenagers' heads.
The decision to call police didn't come until weeks later though, when the group of friends had a falling out and one of the suspects allegedly threatened one of the four girls, Scholting reported.
The attorney for one of the boys said that his client never intended to carry out the plan.
The principal at Preston Junior High said that he never would have believed the three would harm their classmates.
But everyone seems to agree that in the days after Columbine, just talking about something like this is very dangerous -- not to mention having the plans and the weapons to carry it out, Scholting said.
- February 27, 2001: Teen Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy In School Threat Case
- February 9, 2001: Officials Say Teens Tried Recruiting Others For School Attack
- February 9, 2001: Teens Charged In 'Columbine-Style' Attack Conspiracy
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