Monroe Woodbury Teen Plots Attack

Police have in custody an unnamed 15-year-old teenager accused of plotting a Columbine-like attack on his High School, Monroe-Woodbury, in Orange County, New York.

During a search of the teen's home Monday, the statement said police found bottles containing gasoline, items that could be used as fuses, a torch, a machete, three propane tanks, two computers and even a black trench coat similar to the ones worn by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the teens who killed 12 students and a teacher in Columbine, Colo., in 1999 before killing themselves.

According to authorities, the youth said that he had been bullied and that he had "a lot of hatred" for kids at the school. He also admitted that he had been trying to acquire an assault weapon "that could hold as many rounds as possible" .

The attack was supposed to take place on April 20, 2010 to mark the 11th anniversary of the incident at Columbine High School. The police said that the teen's parents were unaware of the items that he had collected or of his plan to attack the school.

The teen is currently under observation in a psychiatric facility.

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The Cheerleaders and the Nude Photos

Two Cheerleaders at Bothell High School in Bothell, Wa. were suspended from the school squad. The reason? Nude pictures of the two girls were circulated, first among the football team, then to the student body and finally to the administrators of the school. One of the girls received a 30-day suspension and the other was suspended for the rest of the school year.

The parents of the two girls are now calling foul. They have filed lawsuits against the Northshore School District, alleging school officials erred when they suspended the girls from the team.

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Both lawsuits, filed in King County Superior Court, accuse school administrators of violating the girls' due process rights, needlessly sharing the photos with other school staff members and failing to promptly report the matter to police as possible child pornography.

The photos were taken separately. The first photo was taken 3 years ago. It showed the girl topless and was originally sent to the cellphone of her boyfriend at the time. The picture was then accidentally sent to other Bothell High School students.

The other girl's photo was taken in June when she and a fellow cheerleader used their cell phones to each snap photos of themselves naked. That photo too was later accidentally sent to other Bothell High School students.

Shortly after the June photos were taken, school officials heard rumors the pictures were circulating among students, particularly football players. They sent a letter to all cheerleaders' parents, warning that if inappropriate photos were found, it could result in suspension from the squad.

Football players were told to delete the pictures from their cell phones, if they received them, but in August school administrators received copies of both photos. This resulted in the disciplinary action taken against the two girls.

Attorney Matthew King, who represents both families, said it was troubling that only the girls were punished while the football players and other students who sent and received the photos, were not disciplined.

"We're not technically challenging the sanctions as being too strict, we're saying they weren't evenly enforced across the school," King said. "There should have been some punishment meted out to those who were in possession of the photos. ... It seems like the girls are getting the brunt of it."

King argues the district's student handbook didn't specifically prohibit the girls' behavior, and didn't outline potential consequences for a case like this.

"My clients fully realize what they did was stupid," King said, adding that the girls never intended for the photos to be distributed and have been mortified by the entire incident.

He wants the disciplinary action expunged from the girls' school records, the remaining teen reinstated to the cheerleading squad and some form of apology from district officials for neglecting to discipline other students in the case.

Northshore spokeswoman Susan Stoltzfus countered that school officials acted appropriately, reported the matter to police and gave both girls a chance to appeal their suspensions to a disciplinary committee and to the School Board.

"Everyone along the line agreed the discipline was appropriate," she said. "Obviously, we take these things seriously, but we really don't believe this (case) has a lot of merit."

"This is frivolous," Northshore School District attorney Mike Patterson said. "It should never have gone to court and they (the families suing) should recognize that what happened here was created by their own doing."

Northshore officials believe the girls clearly violated the district's athletic code, which students must agree to in order to participate in school activities. The girls understood that as athletes, they would be held to higher standards of behavior, Stoltzfus said.

"When you sign up to be a cheerleader -- or for any student activity -- you agree to certain codes of behavior," she said. "We consider them student leaders, and we want them to be role models."

Teen with Bullet in Head Takes Plea Deal

Joshua Adam Bush, 19, pleaded guilty Monday, Dec. 1 2008, to charges of criminal mischief and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. In return, other charges were dropped and he will be sentenced to two years in jail. With time served, he should be out shortly, his lawyer, Langston Adams, told the Beaumont Enterprise.

Bush gained national attention when prosecutors tried to have a bullet removed from his head to prove he was hit during a gun battle while attempting to rob a used car dealership. Bush had claimed that he was shot accidentally by a friend.

In a jury trial in August Bush was found not guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors maintained that Bush had been in a gunfight with the manager of the car lot, Allen Olive, and that was how he got the bullet in his head. Jurors returned a verdict of not guilty, though some indicated that they do not necessarily believe Bush was innocent. This was the most serious charge he faced.

By accepting the plea agreement - in which he pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and criminal mischief - charges of deadly conduct and two counts of engaging in organized criminal activity were dropped as part of the deal.

Jefferson County prosecutor Ramon Rodriguez said the deal was made because any subsequent trials would rely heavily on the testimony of gang members, which would not be reliable.

"We got a couple convictions, which did not force us to rely on the testimony of known gang members for the purpose of getting a conviction," he said.

Even though Bush took the plea bargain offered by prosecutors, he may yet gain financially from the case. Following his arrest law enforcement officers obtained a warrant to have the bullet removed from his head. He was taken to St. Christus Elizabeth Hospital where a doctor made an incision into his forehead, but was unable to remove the slug. His family has since sued the doctor.

Giving Pot to Kids - Teen gets 8 Years

Demetrius McCoy, 18 of Watauga, Texas was sentenced to 8 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to two charges of injury to a child causing bodily injury. He also pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary of a habitation. He received 8 years on each of the 4 counts all of which to be served concurrently. It was however the charges related to causing bodily injury to a child that were the most shocking.

McCoy and his cousin Vanswan Polty, were arrested in February 2007 after police found a video while executing a search warrant at the Watauga home of McCoy’s grandmother. Police were investigating burglaries that McCoy and Polty are suspected of committing. On the video McCoy was seen giving his two nephews 2 and 5-years-old marijuana to smoke. Below is the video found by the police.

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McCoy who reportedly has a 3-month-old daughter, was seen giving his nephews pot, blowing smoke in their faces, calling them "potheads" and joking about them having the "munchies". When asked about the incident in an interview from jail, McCoy apologized for causing such a firestorm but indicated that he didn't consider what he did to be a serious crime.

"Some people give their kids alcohol, let them smoke ice, methamphetamines. Weed ain't going to kill them," he said.

Watauga Department of Public Safety Director Bruce Ure took the incident very seriously and said the teens encouraged the two young boys to smoke a marijuana cigar. Investigators were appalled as they watched the tape.

"You're watching a crime in progress," Mr. Ure said. "This is their uncle, and he's encouraging them. They were so willing to go along, to please their uncle. Encouraging a 2-year-old who is clearly a baby – it's a baby, and they think it's funny watching him impaired."

In an attempt to minimize his own actions, he said he doesn't believe he is the first to expose the boys to the illegal drug and besides "They wasn't even high," Mr. McCoy said. "They didn't even inhale it right." He said that even if he hadn't giving his nephews the pot to smoke "the youngsters would have eventually smoked the drug anyway."

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In exchange for the eight-year sentence, McCoy must also testify against his co-defendant, Vanswan Polty, officials said. If McCoy had been convicted at trial, he would have faced up to 10 years in prison. Vanswan Polty, 19, remains in the Tarrant County Jail awaiting trial. He faces two charges of injury to a child, three charges of burglary of a habitation and one charge of failing to identify himself to a peace officer.

"I think Mr. McCoy recognized that a Tarrant County jury was not going to stand for his behavior, and he did the proper thing by taking responsibility for his actions," said prosecutor Darrell Davila, who handled the case with Leticia Martinez.

McCoy was represented by defense lawyer Ruben Gonzalez Jr.:

"My client accepted his responsibility," Gonzalez said. "His family has suffered terribly, and it is something he will have to live with."

Shatorria Russell, the children's mother, has said she was asleep in another room in the home, which she shared with her children, grandmother and McCoy when the children smoked marijuana. Child Protective Services removed the children from the home shortly after McCoy’s arrest, and  Russell relinquished her parental rights to the state. The children are living with a foster family and are awaiting adoption, CPS spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said.

Teen with Bullet in Head to go on Trial

Joshua Adam Bush, 19, a Groves teen with a bullet in his forehead will go to trial. The trial date has been set for Aug. 11. Bush had previously entered a guilty plea but changed his mind after learning that he was not properly informed of the maximum punishment he faced.

Bush had originally been charged with 6 felonies, stemming from an attempted robbery of a used car lot. He had agreed to plead guilty to two of the charges, deadly conduct and aggravated assault of a witness. If Bush had followed through with the plea agreement, prosecutors would have dismissed the remaining four felonies and Bush would have been sentenced to no more than 10 years in prison.

Criminal District Court Judge John Stevens allowed Bush to withdraw his guilty pleas:

"Generally, pleas of guilty are not allowed to be withdrawn because when the pleas are made, we go over them so slowly and deliberately," Stevens said to Bush in court Friday.

Instead of being told the aggravated assault charge carried a punishment range of up to life in prison, an error on Bush's indictment led Stevens to warn Bush when he pleaded guilty that the charge carried maximum punishment of 20 years.

"The thing is, you either lied to me before when you pleaded guilty or you are lying to me now, telling me you are not," the judge said. "However, the court must admonish you accurately for it to be a constitutionally valid plea."

The Bush case has drawn a lot of publicity because he has a bullet lodged in the fatty tissue of his forehead about 2 inches above his eyes. Bush claims that he was shot accidentally by his friend but the police have a much different story.

The police contend that Bush was involved with a robbery at Olive's Used Cars in Port Arthur on July 21, 2006. During the course of the robbery they say that Bush shot at the manager of the car lot, competitive pistol shooter Allen Olive who returned fire hitting Bush in the forehead with a 9mm slug. Olive, however, told Port Arthur police he could not identify the man with whom he exchanged gunfire.

Bush, claiming that he was innocent, explained that he originally took the plea because: "I'm innocent, but I want to go home. If I took the plea I would get home faster, and that would be better than getting almost a life sentence."

"I didn't shoot at nobody," he said. "They ain't got no gun. The man at the car lot said he can't even identify that it was me. This man, I don't even know how he looks. He don't know how I look."

Michael Mayfield, who has a child with one of Bush's sisters, came forward to take the blame for the bullet in Bush's head which he claims is a .32 caliber slug:

"It was me that shot him," Michael Mayfield said in an interview. "What the DA is saying about the car lot, I kind of laugh at that," Mayfield said. "Because that bullet didn't come from no car lot situation. Can't nobody be more sure than me."

At the time the police obtained search warrants from state 252nd District Court Judge Layne Walker to remove the bullet lodged in Bush's head against his wishes. They claimed that they need the bullet as evidence to prove that it came from Allen Olive's 32mm gun.

Bush was prepped for a forced surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospital in Galveston in December 2006 but the hospital backed out of the operation when Dr. David Parkus, a surgeon at Beaumont's Christus St Elizabeth hospital, noted the bone of Bush's forehead had begun growing around the slug, requiring a more extensive surgery than planned. After failing to find another doctor to perform the surgery the prosecution gave up and said they were confident of convicting Bush without the bullet.

The bullet's bulge on Bush's forehead was plainly visible when he appeared in court Friday. The withdrawn guilty pleas covered two separate cases. The aggravated assault charge was for shooting at the car lot's manager, Allen Olive. The other charge was an unrelated deadly conduct charge for shooting at a teenager on March 30, 2006, at the Port Arthur school district baseball field while a Memorial High School game was under way.