The 16-year-old Roy High School student accused of plotting to bomb the school will have a hearing in May to determine whether he will stand trial on the charge and if he will be tried as an adult.
On Wednesday, 2nd District Juvenile Court Judge Janice Frost called the case "an issue of legitimate and serious public concern," but closed to reporters most of the hearing.
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"There are very sensitive issues that I need to address in private," she said in closing the hearing.
The teen has remained in custody at the Weber Valley Detention Center since his arrest late last month.
With the teen appearing in court via video last week, defense attorney Scott Nickle argued for the boy’s release. Prosecutor Letitia Toombs, however, said the boy posed a "risk to the community."
Both attorneys declined to comment after Wednesday’s hearing, but a court official said a portion of the hearing scheduled to address detention was continued to Feb. 24.
Prosecutors hope to certify the teen as adult on a charge of first-degree felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction. His alleged co-conspirator, 18-year-old Dallin Todd Morgan, has been charged in adult court with an identical count of use or attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction.
Morgan, who is free on $10,000 bail, is scheduled to appear before 2nd District Judge Michael Lyon on Feb. 23.
Frost on Wednesday set a combined preliminary hearing and certification hearing for the 16-year-old for May 10 and 11.
Police said they arrested the teens after other students came forward, concerned about text messages sent by the 16-year-old.
The teens, both Roy High seniors, allegedly planned to set off a bomb during a school assembly, then steal an airplane and fly to another country.
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