Expert: Waseca teen accused in bomb plot poses ‘significant risk’
Published 9:37 am Wednesday, July 1, 2015
WASECA — A teenager accused of plotting to attack his southern Minnesota school poses “a significant risk for future violence,” a prosecution witness testified Tuesday at a hearing to determine whether the teen should be tried as an adult.
Waseca police say they found the teen in a storage unit with bomb-making materials and a plan to kill his family and attack his high school. He was 17 when he was arrested last year. He is now 18.
In March, the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision to dismiss the most serious counts against the suspect. Attempted murder charges against the teen were dropped. He still faces charges of possessing explosives.
Psychologist Katheryn Cranbrook testified Tuesday that the teen has mild to moderate autism and is focused on violence. Cranbrook recommended he be tried as an adult.
“In my opinion, the respondent is a significant risk for future violations,” she said.
Another expert appointed by the court, James Gilbertson, testified that the teen managed his autism spectrum disorder by focusing on violence.
Though the teen is not without conscience or remorse, when he felt disrespected or didn’t fit in at school, he thought of retribution and started to believe he was almost godlike in his ability to take life and outwit the police, Gilbertson said.
The teen tried to “scrub all human feelings from himself,” Gilbertson testified.
The recommendations from the experts at the hearing will help the judge decide whether the teen will be tried as a juvenile or an adult, which will affect the sentence if there is a conviction.
If the teen were to be convicted as an adult on all six counts of possessing explosive devices, he would face a guideline sentence of 60 months, Waseca County Attorney Brenda Miller said.
If he stays in the juvenile system, he could face out-of-home placement or in-home probation until he turns 19 in December.
The teen remains at a juvenile facility in Willmar. His parents have said they believe he never would have actually carried out the alleged plan.
