Judge sentences Bay to 12 years in Landstown bomb plot (Va.)

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Source: The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH

A judge today sentenced Philip Bay, 19, to serve 12 years in prison for plotting an attack on Landstown High School nearly two years ago. He had faced up to life in prison.

Bay was sentenced to 68 years total, with all but 12 years suspended. He will serve two years in a juvenile facility before transferring to an adult facility at age 21.

Commonwealth’s Attorney Harvey Bryant had asked for a minimum of 20 years.

Judge William O’Brien said the sentence was one of the most difficult decisions he has had to make on the bench. “The offense here is absolutely horrendous,” he said. Not once, he said, did he hear Bay say he never would have carried out his plan.

A jury rejected an insanity defense following a six-day trial in November, convicting Bay on all 18 felonies he stood accused of. The charges included manufacturing or possessing an explosive device with intent to cause harm, possessing or using a sawed-off shotgun, and soliciting or recruiting for an act of terrorism.

The jury did not recommend a sentence because Bay was a juvenile at the time of the crime. That was left to the judge.



Read more: http://hamptonroads.com/2011/02/judge-sentences-bay-12-years-landstown-bomb-plot