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CNN Saturday Morning News

College Student Convicted of Planning Mass Murder at School

Aired April 27, 2002 - 09:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In California, a college student has been convicted of plotting a mass murder at his school. Al Joseph DeGuzman's plan was discovered last year before he harmed anyone. He now faces up to 100 years in prison.

CNN's James Hattori has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMES HATTORI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When they arrested Al DeGuzman more than a year ago, police described him as a teenager obsessed with learning how to build bombs. He even had his own Web page complete with explosions. They showed off notes from his diary detailing a plot to attack his school, Deanza College, south of San Francisco, plus some of the 60 weapons and bomb components they found at his parents' home.

MIKE MICELI, SAN JOSE POLICE DEPARTMENT: But I'm telling you, they're mind-boggling. You just -- you wouldn't think one person could have all these bombs and all this destruction in one room, planning on going out and taking it out on people out in the community.

HATTORI: Friday, a Santa Clara County judge found DeGuzman guilty of 54 counts of possessing a destructive device and 54 counts of possession with intent to commit harm, all stemming from his plans for mass murder.

TOM FARRIS, SANTA CLARA COUNTY ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, we'll never know what was averted, but I think the potential was very high that he was going to commit an assault at Deanza College, and that people were going to either be injured or killed.

HATTORI: The plot was discovered after a drugstore clerk saw suspicious photos DeGuzman had taken to be developed and called police.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They showed guns, pipe bombs, and then the bombs being -- and Molotov cocktails.

HATTORI: In court, the defense portrayed DeGuzman as a loner under stress who hatched a fantasy. Friday his lawyer says DeGuzman feels remorse for what happened even though he pleaded not guilty, and acknowledged but dispelled comparisons to Friday's school shootings in Germany.

BARRY REKOON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Al DeGuzman, it's been our contention all along that he never intended to carry these acts out. We still believe that. Obviously the judge feels differently, and that's what's important here. But the bottom line is, nobody got hurt here.

HATTORI: A hearing is scheduled for June 25 to decide what price DeGuzman must pay for a murderous plot never carried out.

James Hattori, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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