Minn. teen accused in school massacre plot pleads guilty to felony charge

WASECA, Minn. John LaDue, the teen accused of planning an unfulfilled school massacre in this southern Minnesota city, pleaded guilty Friday to a felony charge of possessing an explosive device.

The plea came during an afternoon hearing in Waseca County District Court, where attorneys for LaDue, 18, had planned to argue that the six remaining bomb possession charges against him should be dismissed.

Under the terms of the plea, five of those counts were dismissed. LaDue, who planned to shoot his family, then go to the local junior and senior high school with pressure-cooker bombs and firearms, will be sent to an inpatient secured autism spectrum disorder facility, then to a halfway house and then to intensive supervision. He also will be placed on probation. The length of probation between five and 10 years is expected to be decided at his Oct. 19 sentencing.

While prosecutors initially pursued more serious charges against LaDue, including attempted murder, many of the charges that could possibly have resulted in a long prison sentence had already been dismissed by a judge. Prosecutors said Friday that left them with the option of seeking placement in a secured treatment facility to ensure the public’s safety.

“The Waseca County Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement have always taken seriously the actions and intentions of John LaDue and have done everything within our power to ensure the best outcome to protect the public,” Waseca County Attorney Brenda Miller said in a statement Friday.

“It is our belief that this plea offer is the best outcome possible, under the circumstances, to ensure public safety.”

Lawyers for LaDue had argued in court papers that authorities lacked probable cause to charge him with six counts of possessing explosive or incendiary devices because the devices found were not assembled enough to be destructive.

LaDue was 17 when officers found him in April of 2014 with bomb-making materials. A citizen had called police when she saw him suspiciously enter a storage locker. That night, LaDue told authorities of his plans to shoot his family, then go to school with pressure-cooker bombs, firearms and ammunition.

He was initially charged as a juvenile with four counts of attempted murder, two counts of first-degree damage to property and six counts of possession of a bomb by someone under 18. But a judge dismissed attempted murder and property damage charges, noting that the state failed to show LaDue had made a substantial step toward committing the crimes.

Last month, a different judge certified LaDue as an adult for court purposes, finding that doing so would “serve public safety and meet the needs of the child for treatment and rehabilitation.”

Had be been convicted as an adult on all six charges, LaDue would have faced a guideline sentence of 60 months in prison, Miller has said.

“With the loss of the attempt charges, gone also was any possibility of a long prison sentence,” Miller said in her statement Friday.

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