Penn High School student pleads guilty in attack plotby Leanne Tokars (ltokars@wsbt.com)
A 16-year-old Penn High School student accused of planning a Columbine-style attack pleaded guilty in court on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. (WSBT photo) SOUTH BEND — The teenager accused of planning a deadly attack on Penn High School admits he's guilty. Related Content
The 16-year-old told a magistrate Wednesday that he conspired to commit murder. He also admitted to setting a date for the attack and researching how to get weapons. When the judge asked him if he intended to kill other human beings, he also said yes. “I'm very pleased that he accepted responsibility for what it is law enforcement uncovered,” said St. Joseph County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Tamashasky. “Frankly, I think this is the first step this young man has taken toward basically recovering and getting the help he needs. I think that's a big step." Investigators went through 160,000 emails in this case. An Ohio judge had unsealed Lee Billi's court documents. It showed the Penn student was interested in the Columbine shootings. It also showed several entries from one of the teen's notebooks. One dated April 16 says, “I wish I could shoot up the school and get away with it and still get my national recognition. That's how much I hate most of these people here." The teenager’s lawyer says he hasn’t seen the notebook. He told WSBT that pleading guilty is what's best for his client. “There are a lot of factors in determining this,” said his lawyer James Nafe. “Among them is the possibility of him being tried in adult court — he does not belong there.” He added, “He is very nice young man. He is very bright. Of course, he has been very upset by this whole thing." The guilty plea closes the case for prosecutors. They say they will contact Ohio officials to see if they can assist them in the case against Lee Billi. “There is absolutely no evidence in all of this that anyone else in this community is involved or there's anything else going on or that this was part of a larger plan,” said Tamashasky. “What we have — that was the plan.” The teen also told the magistrate that he knew what he did was wrong. He will be sentenced on July 8. The magistrate said because of the nature of the charge and the direct threat to human beings, the teen will stay in custody until then. If he had been tried as an adult and found guilty, the teenager would have faced between 20 and 50 years behind bars. Now that he’s pleaded guilty as a juvenile, any punishment can only last until he’s 21 years old. Most PopularMore Good Stuff |
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