Newington school attack plan gets teen prison time

Newington school attack plan gets teen prison time
June 24, 2008
NEW BRITAIN, Conn.—A Newington teenager has been sentenced to three years in prison for planning what authorities said would have been a Columbine-style massacre at his high school.
Frank Fechteler, 18, told Judge Joan K. Alexander that he would not commit another crime during his sentencing hearing at New Britain Superior Court on Monday.
Police charged Fechteler with making bombs in February 2007. Investigators said he had detailed attack plans that included a list of targets, a map of Newington High School, a timeline for shooting people and a strategy for overpowering school security officials.
Authorities were tipped off to videos he posted on Youtube.com that showed him shooting long rifles and a friend detonating pipe bombs.
Alexander said she based the prison sentence on the need to deter others from doing the same thing. But she also noted that Fechteler had made good use of the time he was detained. Officials said he earned a general equivalency diploma with honors and was the top-ranked member of his class at Manson Youth Institution in Cheshire.
"I do believe you are an excellent candidate for rehabilitation," the judge said. "You are an extraordinarily talented individual who immersed themselves in a negative track."
Fechteler will serve five years' probation after the prison time and will be prohibited from consuming alcohol and drugs, having contact with people on the "hit list" and going on the high school grounds.
He pleaded guilty to the bomb-making charges last November.
Fechteler had faced up to four years in prison under the plea deal. His lawyer, Raul Davila, asked for an 18-month sentence and probation.
"I think Frank has learned his lesson," Davila told the judge.
Fechteler's family appeared relieved after the sentencing.
"It's over," said his father, William Fechteler, while his wife cried nearby.
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Information: The Herald of New Britain, http://www.newbritainherald.com, and The Hartford Courant, http://www.courant.com