Conspiracy Charges Dropped for 2 Students Accused of Springbrook Bomb Plot

Montgomery County prosecutors have agreed to drop conspiracy charges against two students originally accused of plotting to kill their principal by throwing a nail bomb into his office and ignite a large explosion inside their school.

The Montgomery state's attorney's office filed a plea agreement late last week that calls for Yonata Getachew, 18, to plead guilty to arson and another arson-related charge stemming from two small fires set inside restrooms at Springbrook High School in White Oak. Getachew also will plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment, according to the agreement. Because he has no prior criminal history, judicial guidelines call for him to receive a sentence of zero to two years' incarceration.

As of yesterday, Getachew remained in the Montgomery jail, where he has been held without bond since his arrest on April 29. It is unclear whether his bond will be reduced based on the plea agreement. No sentencing date has been set, according to online court records.

Earlier, charges of conspiracy to commit murder against the second teenager, Anthony Torrence, 17, were dropped, and his case was moved to juvenile court, said his attorney, Charles Lazar.

Both teenagers were described as special-needs students by their attorneys or relatives, who from the start said that police had overstated the case. The fires in the restrooms left charred marks about six inches in diameter, according to officials involved in the case.

The conspiracy to commit murder charge "was way too strong," said Getachew's 21-year-old brother, Mickias. "There was no way for that to be true, for him to even think about doing something like that."

The investigation grew out of statements Torrence made to a Montgomery police officer at the school April 28, which startled police and school officials in an era of deadly school attacks.

Torrence told officers that he and Getachew had planned to throw the bomb into the principal's office. They also had planned to puncture a gas pipe near an auditorium stage, which would fill the room with gas, and toss in an incendiary device to cause an explosion, according to charging documents. Police Officer Rodney Barnes, who was assigned to Springbrook, said Torrence showed him 10 cans of lighter fluid stored in his book bag.

"We had to take it very seriously," Montgomery Assistant Police Chief Wayne Jerman said yesterday. "I think the facts supported probable cause for the charges that were placed."

David Putzi, Getachew's attorney, said from the beginning that police looked "too far ahead" in their investigation. Even so, he acknowledged at an April bond hearing: "Just based on the nature of the accusations, everyone must come to alert, and I understand that, based on what has happened in other jurisdictions at other times."

Torrence's mother, Andrea Torrence, has said that her son was manipulated by Getachew and that police further manipulated her son into admitting involvement. Torrence is widely viewed as mild-mannered, according to people involved in the case.

Lucille Baur, a Montgomery police spokeswoman, said that "certainly the department understands a mother's concern" but that Torrence "freely provided information."