(Chris Caldwell | Pool Photo) Defense lawyer Stephen Harris during the detention hearing and the initial appearance for the 16-year-old boy accused of bringing a bomb to Pine View High School. Wednesday, March 28, 2018.
St. George • The southern Utah teen accused of hanging an Islamic State flag at Hurricane High School and later attempting to ignite an explosive device at Pine View High School will remain in juvenile detention while the juvenile court case against him moves forward.
The order was issued by 5th District Juvenile Court Judge Paul Dame on Wednesday afternoon in the teen’s weekly review hearing to determine if he should remain in a detention facility.
It was the 16-year-old’s first court appearance since he was charged Monday with first-degree-felony attempted murder and possession of a weapon of mass destruction. He was also charged with graffiti, a class A misdemeanor, and abuse of the flag, a class B misdemeanor.
“I believe it’s unsafe to release him at this time,” Dame said.
Attorney Stephen Harris, who represents the teen, not object to keeping the teen in detention. Neither did the teen or his parents.
The teen appeared in court in a gray polo shirt tucked into light blue cotton pants, and he sat upright at the defense table with his parents and lawyers, maintaining a straight face throughout the proceeding. Five family members sat behind in the courtroom gallery.
The teen was arrested March 5 after police say he entered Pine View High School with a backpack containing a homemade explosive device, which he tried to detonate.
According to court records, the teen, who had two backpacks, is seen on surveillance footage in the cafeteria eating his lunch. After eating, he left the cafeteria and placed one of the backpacks up against a vending machine.
Police said the backpack contained a metal soup can holding the separated shot and gunpowder from 24 shotgun shells. The powder was on the bottom of the container and the metal BBs were in a cup above. The can’s lid was taped back on, and a fuse ran through a hole in the bottom. The backpack also held three 17-ounce bottles of gasoline.
Court records say the teen opened the backpack and lit the fuse, made of gunpowder and tape. The fuse didn’t light the first time, so he again used a match, with the fuse catching the second time. As it started to smoke, he walked away.
There were 75 to 150 students in the area, according to court records.
Several students reported to teachers that their was dark smoke and a strong odor coming from the backpack. A school resource officer opened the backpack, saw the contents, removed it from the school and called the Washington County Bomb Squad. The school was evacuated.
The fuse had smoldered out, the explosive never went off and no one was hurt.
The teen was detained and taken to the St. George Police Department, where he admitted to bringing the device to school and trying to detonate it, according to court records.
Because the teen’s case is in juvenile court he is being held without bail. But if the case were to be bound over to district court, bail would be determined. The Tribune generally does not name juvenile defendants unless they are certified to stand trial as adults.
The next step for the teen will be a two-part preliminary examination. Harris asked that the hearing be pushed out at least 45 days as the defense is waiting for the results of the testing of metal and other materials, as well as needing time to go through the plethora of evidence.
A probable cause hearing is set for May 11. If Dame finds there is enough probable cause to move forward, a second hearing will take place May 18 do handle “other considerations.”
Harris declined to discuss the case after the hearing, as did the teen’s family.
Police determined that the teen was also behind a Feb. 15 incident where an ISIS flag was raised at Hurricane High School in place of an American flag and spray painted “ISIS is comi” across 25 feet of an exterior wall. The teen told police he made the flag himself.
When asked about the danger he put other Pine View students in, the teen said he didn’t care.
“I don’t really see death as bad; it’s a new kind of way of life,” he told police, according to court records.
When asked what he would do if he hadn’t gotten caught, he said he would have hung another ISIS flag to make it look like the terrorist group was in southwestern Utah.
“Then maybe after that try to contact ISIS, but I don’t really know how to do that,” he told police, according to court records. “I need to do more research.”