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Published May 04, 2006 12:00 am - New charge filed against Riverton teen The Joplin Globe By Roger McKinney
Globe Staff Writer COLUMBUS, Kan. - The Kansas attorney general's office on Wednesday filed motions for authority to prosecute as adults the four juvenile Riverton High School students who are charged with plotting a shooting spree at the school. One of the juveniles, James Tillman, 16, is facing an additional charge of felony solicitation to commit first-degree murder. He was charged last week with incitement to riot and criminal threat. The solicitation charge alleges that Tillman unlawfully commanded, requested or encouraged another person or people to commit or attempt to commit murder. The other students charged in the alleged plot are Coy New, 18; Robby Hunt, 17; Caleb Byrd, 16; and Andrew Jaeger, 15. Each is charged with one count of incitement to riot and one count of criminal threat. Stephen Maxwell, senior assistant Kansas attorney general, said during a hearing Wednesday in Cherokee County District Court that more charges are possible. "The offense charged is an extremely serious offense," the motions read. "The protection of the community requires prosecution as an adult." The five were arrested April 20. Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Norman said that they had planned to shoot students and school staff members at the high school in a spree modeled after the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School shootings in Colorado. A message on MySpace.com containing a veiled threat had been discovered by school officials two days earlier. The Sheriff's Department received subsequent information from a girl in North Carolina who reportedly had communicated with someone connected to the plot. Labette County District Judge Robert Fleming set New's bond at $50,000 last week. On Wednesday, he changed that to a $25,000 surety bond and a $25,000 "own recognizance" bond. It would require his parents to use a bondsman or put up a refundable $25,000 in cash for the surety bond. The own-recognizance bond requires the defendant and his parents to sign for his release, and they would be responsible for paying $25,000 if he did not show up for court appearances. Fleming said that if New makes bond, he would be under house arrest and would be ordered to have no contact with anyone at the school, except immediate family members. Maxwell argued against the bond reduction. "There may be further charges," Maxwell said. "We're concerned about public safety." Fleming told Maxwell that the case has been investigated for two weeks, but the only charges against New were incitement to riot and criminal threat. "I have to set bond based on what you charge, not what you may charge," Fleming said. New's attorney, Robert Myers, said after the hearing that it was uncertain whether his client's parents could make bond. 
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