3 Junior High Youths Plead Guilty in Failed Plot to Kill Fellow Student
SALINAS — Three junior high school students pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit manslaughter, saying plans of self-defense turned to thoughts of homicide against a classmate they considered a bully.
The two 13-year-olds and one 14-year-old were among 11 students accused of hatching the Oct. 21 plot in Monterey.
A trial for the three boys, who were not identified, had been scheduled to start Monday.
The three, who wore handcuffs and ankle chains, told Superior Court Judge Robert O’Farrell the plot unfolded after the intended victim, a 15-year-old eighth-grader who was not harmed, threatened them the previous week.
Police said the boys filed the serial number off a .22-caliber handgun and brought it to Walter Colton Junior High School.
Most of the other youths, ages 11 to 14, face lesser charges of possession of a stolen gun.
The three boys who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit voluntary manslaughter were scheduled for sentencing Dec. 11. They could get a maximum 11 years in the custody of the California Youth Authority or get probation and be sent home.
Under a court order, the names of the juveniles and their families cannot be made public.
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