Prosecutors Want Teen Tried as Adult in Bomb Case
Updated 9:57 AM EST, Thu, Dec 11, 2008
Montgomery County prosecutors want the case against a 17-year-old accused of helping another teenager make bombs in a Bethesda home transferred to adult court.
The teen was charged over the summer with making and possessing an explosive device, misdemeanor theft and having unauthorized access to a computer, said his lawyer, Rene Sandler.
Assistant state's attorney Peter Feeney said Wednesday at a juvenile court hearing that prosecutors intend to file a motion to have the Gaithersburg youth tried as an adult.
If the teen's lawyer opposes the request, a judge will determine where the case should be tried.
The teen was accompanied by his parents. He stayed silent during the brief hearing in juvenile court.
Sandler said after the hearing that she and prosecutors have not reached an agreement.
Prosecutors have said the teenager and 19-year-old Collin McKenzie-Gude had bomb-making materials in McKenzie-Gude's Bethesda home.
Investigators have said they found assault weapons, ammunition and more than 50 pounds of chemicals in McKenzie-Gude's home. He also had a fake CIA badge, a fake ID for a federal contractor and the map of Camp David with markings for the presidential motorcade route.
Authorities have said the two teens were friends at St. John's College High School in Northwest Washington. Sandler said her client has since withdrawn from St. John's; she refused to say where he goes to school now.
"We're hopeful for a resolution that will allow him to get on with his life, get an education and get back to what matters," Sandler said after the hearing.
McKenzie-Gude was indicted in November on federal charges of possessing bomb-making materials and having documents for false identification. He is due to be arraigned in federal court Dec. 23, according to his lawyer, Steven Kupferberg.
First Published: Dec 11, 2008 9:43 AM EST
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