Waseca teen who threated to bomb school gets probation, treatment

John LaDue pleaded guilty last month to a single felony count of possessing an explosive device after almost a year and a half of legal battles over what should happen to him.

The plea agreement required John LaDue, now 18, to live in a secured facility and receive treatment for autism spectrum disorder.

“If he is again allowed to be an under-the-radar loner, the risk increases”, Chase added, the paper says. Police found LaDue in April 2014 in a storage locker with bomb-making materials after a suspicious resident reported him.

Judge Joseph Chase ordered LaDue to undergo treatment at a secured facility, followed by intensive supervision for up to 10 years, according to court records.

Both Waseca County Attorney Brenda Miller and Stephen Ferrazzano from the public defender’s office said they were satisfied with the sentence and LaDue’s placement at Devereux Georgia in Georgia.

LaDue told investigators in audio recordings released by the Minnesota courts that he had planned to kill his parents and sister and set a fire to distract first responders before attacking the school in Waseca, about 65 miles south of Minneapolis.

The Waseca teenager accused of possessing explosives – part of a plot, authorities argued, to kill his family and bomb his high school – will avoid jail time, and the judge asked the community not to shun him. But the attempted murder and property-damage charges were dismissed, and a judge later certified him to stand trial as an adult.