10-year-old sentenced to 3-5 years

May 15, 2013 @ 5:26 pm

COLVILLE, Wash. (AP) - A 10-year-old boy who plotted to attack a classmate at Fort Colville Elementary School was sentenced to three to five years in a juvenile detention facility on Wednesday by Stevens County Superior Court Judge Allen Nielson.

The boy's attorney indicated they plan to appeal.

Stevens County Prosecutor Tim Rasmussen asked for an exceptional sentence that would have put the boy in custody until at least the age of 16.

The boy pleaded guilty just before the start of his trial in April. He was charged with conspiracy to commit murder, juvenile in possession of a firearm and witness tampering.

The second defendant in the case, an 11-year-old boy, remains in custody.

The two fifth-graders were arrested Feb. 7 after officials discovered them trying to sneak a gun and knife into their school. Police interviewed the boys, who confessed they had been planning on attacking a classmate that same day.

The boys were expelled from school.

The 11-year-old boy is currently having his mental competency evaluated by doctors at Eastern State Hospital. The tests will evaluate the boy's sanity and his fitness to stand trial.

Dr. Kevin Hyde addressed Wednesday's sentencing hearing by phone, saying that he had met the 10-year-old boy for three sessions and felt he was not a high risk to commit violent acts. Hyde said the prosecution sentencing recommendation was inappropriate.

"I think it would be wrong to incarcerate this child until the age of 16. We don't need to ruin this child's life," Hyde said.

The mother of the girl who was the target of the boys' attack said her daughter forgave the boys, and asked for a sentence of longer than two years.

Rasmussen, in asking for an exceptional sentence, said the boy "was dangerous on Feb. 7 and he's dangerous today."

"He doesn't think in terms of how his actions affect other people. There's something missing in him," Rasmussen said, adding that the boy's thinking was "like a video game. There's someone in your way, you kill them."


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (9)


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  • Pair o'dimes wrote...
    Another "responsible" gun owner?
    February 8, 2013 10:30 pm
    Another gun left unsecured?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Two northeast Washington fifth-grade boys accused of bringing a knife and a stolen gun to school
    February 9, 2013 5:57 am
    is this what you were talking rwnj NRA? Armed children will save lives?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • WashingtonCitizen wrote...
    Funny how in 237 years of so called "gun culture"
    February 9, 2013 7:43 am
    in this country, we never saw or heard of these types of instances until the last few years. Guns are not the problem. It has more to do with parenting and the moral decline of society than anything.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pair o'dimes wrote...
    Moral decline yes, parenting no
    February 9, 2013 8:01 am
    The incident in New Mexico is a great example of active, engaged parents who made the mistake of leaving guns unsecured. The father (a pastor) taught his son about gun safety, they went shooting together, but then the whole family was killed by the teenage son with guns left in the closet. Between burglaries, friends coming over, and just plain immature children who have been desensitized to gun violence, there is no excuse for a gun owner to leave their guns unsecured.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • imanegro wrote...
    Pair o'dimes
    February 9, 2013 4:43 pm
    You make a couple of valid points, but I'd like to reply with a couple of my own. First, sometimes responsible people make mistakes that end up costing them or someone else their life. Second, you can't save everyone. Every sad event (like Newtown) does not demand a new law or the loss/restriction of freedom in exchange for safety.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    bet a RWNJ[s] will say
    February 14, 2013 12:08 pm
    they have their 2nd amendment rights too!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • xplanes wrote...
    Pair o dimes
    February 14, 2013 1:26 pm
    "...there is no excuse for a gun owner to leave their guns unsecured." I leave mine unsecured when I'm home. I take it with me when I leave. If my kids have friends over I lock it in a safe until they leave. My kids are all trained in firearm safety. The older ones know where I leave it unsecured in case they need it and I am unable for some reason. The younger ones have no idea it's not locked up when I'm home. I'm not gonna look for my keys, run down the hall and race some thug to my gun safe at the back of the house when he kicks my front door in just so someone like you will feel safe. There is a whole lot of room between careless and unarmed. And no, my kids aren't on drugs, suicidal, mentally ill, or felons. If they were I'd be getting them the help they need. The steps required to be a responsible gun owner would be quite different then. Please don't regulate the whole of society down to the lowest possible denominator and thereby treat us all like mentally ill criminals in the making.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Yadda1 wrote...
    Conversely, xplanes,
    April 9, 2013 1:40 pm
    We can't afford to treat mentally ill criminals like law-abiding citizens when it comes to gun ownership.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Tyrone DeVille wrote...
    Dr. Kevin Hyde:
    May 15, 2013 4:45 pm
    is a known fraud! WHY didn't Kevin take this kid home! In 5 years we will have the filthy little sociopath back in Society!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }