Chesterfield County teen gets 10 years for school attack plot

FLORENCE — A Mount Croghan teen accused of plotting to blow up his high school in 2008 said during his sentencing Thursday he’s embarrassed by his actions and his plans had nothing to do with the people who attended Chesterfield High School.

Ryan Schallenberger was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty Aug. 5 to receiving and attempting to receive an explosive with the knowledge and intent that it would be used to kill, injure or intimidate an individual, and damage and destroy a building, vehicle, or other real and personal property. He also pleaded guilty to receiving and attempting to receive an explosive with the knowledge and intent that it would be used to kill, injure or intimidate an individual, and damage and destroy a building, vehicle, or other real and personal property.

He entered the plea in exchange for the 10-year sentence at the Federal Medical Center at Butner (N.C.) Federal Correctional Complex, where he can continue to receive mental health treatment, according to a plea agreement the teen signed.

Schallenberger can reduce his sentence by as much as 15 percent with good behavior, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Mary Parham, who prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred “Buddy” Bethea. He also gets credit for time served — about a year — and has the option to spend the last six to 12 months in a halfway house.

Just before his sentencing, the 19-year-old addressed the court in a mature tone and apologized for his actions.

Schallenberger said he really was “embarrassed by all this” and Chesterfield High School, where he planned to carry out his attack, is a great school with good people.

“It had nothing to do with the school or the students,” he told U.S. District Judge Bryan Harwell who handed down the sentence.

Mike Meetze, who represented the teen along with Bill Nettles, said his client is not the person who wrote hate-filled journals with information about building bombs.

“If I could, I would kill nearly all of mankind, executing anyone I deem unfit,” Schallenberger wrote in a journal discovered after his arrest.

“That’s the mental illness speaking — that’s not the person he is,” Meetze said. “It’s really hard to believe that Ryan had been involved in this when you get to know him.”

Since his arrest, Schallenberger has been evaluated multiple times at the Butner facility and is on medication for major depressive disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder, Meetze said.

He said the entire case is a product of Schallenberger’s mental illnesses and he believes no one would be present in the courtroom for this case if the teen had been properly treated, Meetze said.

Nettles said Schallenberger is “a good person” and isn’t a lost cause.

“He is a person of immense talents ... he has an engaging personality,” Nettles said.

Schallenberger was ranked as high as No. 2 academically at Chesterfield High School just before his arrest his senior year, Nettles said.

Harwell said Schallenberger is apparently gifted academically and he hopes the teen will take advantage of whatever opportunities he has during his sentence.

A 10-year sentence is tough on everybody involved in the case, but it’s within the federal sentencing guidelines, Harwell said.

“It’s a long time for someone who’s never been in prison ... this was serious conduct. You frightened a lot of people,” Harwell said.

Schallenberger’s mother expressed relief and thankfulness when Harwell announced her son would be serving his time at Butner.

She cried as her son spoke and whispered his name just loud enough for her son to hear. He turned around and smiled at her as he was escorted out of the courtroom.

Parham said everyone — including law enforcement officers and Chesterfield County School district officials — is satisfied with the sentence.

“All of us lost a lot of sleep trying to come up with a sentence,” Parham said after the hearing.

Schallenberger committed a horrendous crime, but at the same time, he is young man who has a mental illness, she said.

Parham said she is pleased Schallenberger will be treated at Butner.

It is also the safest place for such a young man who is small in stature, she said.

Schallenberger was arrested April 19, 2008, after his parents intercepted a package addressed to him containing 20 pounds of ammonium nitrate shipped to him from a gun enthusiast in Kentucky.

He’d also been charged in a three-count indictment with possessing an unregistered destructive device which carried a maximum sentence of 10 years, but Parham moved to dismiss that charge during the sentencing.

During a previous hearing, Parham read excepts from the teen’s journal where he wrote that he detonated his first completed pipe bomb in July 2007.

“Definitely a keeper. Absolutely brilliant! Brilliant and deadly. Awesome,” Schallenberger wrote.

Investigators who confiscated the journal also found drawings of Chesterfield High School and an audio tape clearly meant to be found after the boy’s death, Parham said.

Schallenberger referred to his plot as “Columbine 2” and had a multi-step plan that included chaining the doors of the high school to keep students from escaping while he took a firearm and began “killing with purpose all I chose,” according to the journal.

Schallenberger later wrote that most people didn’t think of him as the type of person who would conceive a murderous plot. He wasn’t an outcast and had friends of many different races, he wrote.

The teen went on to say he related to people like Timothy McVeigh, the mastermind of the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

Schallenberger referred to himself as a martyr and said his plan had a purpose and he had a motive.

“If I had to give one motive although there are many, it would have to be this: I am sick and tired of everyone that’s a fake,” he wrote.

Days before his arrest, Schallenberger had an argument with his parents and stormed out, telling them that if they called police, he would kill them when they arrived.

During an interview after his arrest, Schallenberger told Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker he intended to die, go to heaven and “kill Jesus Christ himself.”

Schallenberger still faces state charges in connection with the case. Fourth Circuit Solicitor Will Rogers hasn’t said whether he intends to pursue those charges.