Severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings issued for Twin Cities metro area

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support


A three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals has upheld 

 to drop attempted murder charges against a Waseca teenager accused of plotting to attack his family and high school last year.

Prosecutors initially charged John LaDue as an adult 

, possessing explosives and criminal damage to property. In July, Waseca County Judge Gerald J. Wolf dismissed the attempted murder charges, citing a lack of probable cause because LaDue did not carry out his plan.

Dad: No warning from son accused in foiled attack plot

Police arrested LaDue at a storage locker in April 2014 when someone spotted him near a storage locker making what authorities say were preparations for the attack. 

 a gun, ammunition, pipe bombs and gunpowder in a search of his home. They also found notes outlining his plans.

In their ruling, Court of Appeals Judges Renee Worke, Larry Stauber and Terri Stoneburner agreed that authorities found no evidence to support the attempted murder charges.

"Under the attempt statute, an individual must have intent to commit crime and must commit 'an act which is a substantial step toward, and more than preparation for, the commission of the crime,'" the judges wrote in their ruling. They noted that LaDue did not brandish, point or shoot a firearm at his intended victims; openly threaten them or transport the explosives to the school.

LaDue still faces charges for possessing explosives. He is being held in at the Prairie Lakes Youth Program's secure facilities in Willmar, Minn.

Crime, Law and Justice

Riham Feshir

Author

In Monday's decision, judges wrote that there is insufficient probable cause that John LaDue "took a substantial step" toward attacking his family and school.

Appeals Court affirms tossed counts in Waseca school plot

Go Deeper.

Like this?