By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune Published: August 20, 2012 Updated: August 20, 2012 - 12:54 PM<\/p>\n
TAMPA A former Freedom High School student will face charges alleging he plotted a Columbine-style attack at the school, a Circuit Court judge has ruled. <\/p>\n
Jared Cano's plans to blow up the school were nothing more than a \"half-baked scheme,\" according to his lawyer, Norman S. Canella Sr., who filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss charges of threatening to discharge a destructive device and attempting to discharge a destructive device with intention to harm. <\/p>\n
Canella argued that the items assembled by Cano including a timer, pipes and chemicals could not have exploded or hurt anyone. <\/p>\n
But Assistant State Attorney John Terry said it doesn't matter under the law whether Cano's bomb would have succeeded. <\/p>\n
Cano told a high school student about his plans, and the student was concerned enough to go to police and become an informant, Terry said. Cano made a timer and compiled bomb ingredients and instructions. <\/p>\n
\"The Legislature wants to stop these people before they actually make these bombs,\" Terry said during a hearing last Month before Circuit Court Judge Kimberly Fernandez. <\/p>\n
Fernandez has issued a written order denying the defense motion, siding with the prosecution. Fernandez wrote that a jury could reasonably conclude that Cano's actions fulfilled the legal requirements for a conviction. <\/p>\n
\"I was disappointed, but not shocked,\" Canella said Monday. \"I need to consult with my client. Obviously, there is a real possibility of an appeal.\" <\/p>\n
Cano, who had been expelled from the school, was arrested in August 2011 after authorities said they received a tip Cano wanted to bomb the school. Police searched his family's apartment and said they found bomb-making material, marijuana plants and a \"manifesto\" containing minute-by-minute plans to kill two school officials and at least 30 students. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Ex-Freedom High student to face charges of plotting school attack<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune Published: August 20, 2012 Updated: August 20, 2012 - 12:54 PM TAMPA A former Freedom High School student will face charges alleging he plotted a Columbine-style attack at the school, a Circuit Court judge has ruled. Jared Cano's plans to blow up the school were nothing more than a \"half-baked scheme,\" according to his lawyer, Norman S. Canella Sr., who filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss charges of threatening to discharge a destructive device and attempting to discharge a destructive device with intention to harm. Continue reading