Prosecutors ask to reinstate charges against LaDue for school plot
Prosecutors are asking a state appeals court to reinstate attempted murder charges against a Waseca high school student who was accused of plotting to kill his family and classmates.
John LaDue, 17, was arrested in April at a storage locker after neighbors reported suspicious activity to police. A search of the storage locker and LaDue's house turned up explosives, a gun, bomb-making supplies and a journal that outlined his plans.
• June 2014: Waseca teen 'wanted as many victims as possible,' he says in court documents
• July 2014: Waseca dad: Son is no killer, prosecutors overreacted
The Waseca County Attorney's office originally charged LaDue in early May with four counts of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of attempted criminal damage to property and six counts of possessing explosives.
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District Court Judge Gerald Wolf dismissed the attempted murder charges in late July because LaDue "did not make a substantial step, beyond mere preparation, toward the commission of first degree premeditated murder."
That decision noted that at no point did LaDue verbally or physically threaten anyone, transport any of the guns or weapons to the final location or "injure or maim any individual."
Wolf also dismissed the charges against LaDue for attempted criminal damage to property.
In their appeal, prosecutors argue that the court erred in interpreting the statute.
"[T]he juvenile court's ruling requires an offender to be on the brink of committing the crime in order to be held liable for attempt. This requirement is completely at odds with the intent behind the statute," according to the court filing by the Waseca County Attorney's office.
LaDue's attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
After the defense files its own brief with the court and both sides make oral arguments, the Court of Appeals will have 90 days to make a decision.
LaDue's parents have stood by their son throughout the process, arguing that prosecutors overreacted to the situation.