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Teens cleared of plotting attack | Waynesboro News Virginian
Two former students from the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind who “fantasized” about an attack on teachers and fellow students never intended to carry out a plan, a judge ruled Monday.
The two boys “said some things they shouldn’t have ... what they said got taken out of context,” defense attorney William W. Little said Tuesday.
“In the courtroom it basically came down to the intent: whether they actually had the intent to carry out some of the things they had talked about,” Little said. “It was two young boys fantasizing.”
Tipped by administrators Sept. 24, Virginia State Police responded with an all-night investigation that led to charges against the students. The unnamed teens, one 14 from Augusta County and the other from Arlington, planned to attack a dorm in late October, police said. Investigators had identified some potential victims, police said.
Defense attorney Tate Love, who represented the Augusta County teen, said he does not condone what the boys communicated via sign language, but “there was no evidence that there was any intent to actually carry out the acts.”
Judge Charles Ricketts III found the two boys not guilty on charges of conspiracy to murder two or more people, a Class 3 felony that could have detained the teens until they turned 21. They were tried as juveniles in a hearing that lasted more than two hours, Little said.
Attorneys said the teens lived together in a dorm, which authorities searched, turning up no weapons.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Anne Reed declined to discuss the case, but said the law pertaining to conspiracy is difficult to prosecute “when you don’t have something in writing.”
“Any plans like this are not excusable, whether they’re criminal,” Reed said.
Police said the hearing-impaired suspects had prior discipline problems at the school and had been dismissed. Administrators notified parents by phone and with a letter on the day allegations surfaced.
The prompt reaction by administrators and state police showed a “textbook” response to a potential threat, said Kenneth Trump, president of Cleveland-based National School Safety and Security Services.
VSDB, established by the General Assembly in 1838, educates deaf and blind students.
Two former students from the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind who “fantasized” about an attack on teachers and fellow students never intended to carry out a plan, a judge ruled Monday.
The two boys “said some things they shouldn’t have ... what they said got taken out of context,” defense attorney William W. Little said Tuesday.
“In the courtroom it basically came down to the intent: whether they actually had the intent to carry out some of the things they had talked about,” Little said. “It was two young boys fantasizing.”
Tipped by administrators Sept. 24, Virginia State Police responded with an all-night investigation that led to charges against the students. The unnamed teens, one 14 from Augusta County and the other from Arlington, planned to attack a dorm in late October, police said. Investigators had identified some potential victims, police said.
Defense attorney Tate Love, who represented the Augusta County teen, said he does not condone what the boys communicated via sign language, but “there was no evidence that there was any intent to actually carry out the acts.”
Judge Charles Ricketts III found the two boys not guilty on charges of conspiracy to murder two or more people, a Class 3 felony that could have detained the teens until they turned 21. They were tried as juveniles in a hearing that lasted more than two hours, Little said.
Attorneys said the teens lived together in a dorm, which authorities searched, turning up no weapons.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Anne Reed declined to discuss the case, but said the law pertaining to conspiracy is difficult to prosecute “when you don’t have something in writing.”
“Any plans like this are not excusable, whether they’re criminal,” Reed said.
Police said the hearing-impaired suspects had prior discipline problems at the school and had been dismissed. Administrators notified parents by phone and with a letter on the day allegations surfaced.
The prompt reaction by administrators and state police showed a “textbook” response to a potential threat, said Kenneth Trump, president of Cleveland-based National School Safety and Security Services.
VSDB, established by the General Assembly in 1838, educates deaf and blind students.