Woman Who Planned To Blow Up Her High School Enters Plea, Is Sentenced

She was recommended for the Patuxent Youthful Offender Program.


Frederick, Md (KM). A young woman from Thurmont who was planning a “Columbine style” act of violence at Catoctin High School last year where was a student entered a plea on Tuesday. Nicole Cevario, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of explosive material with intent to create a destructive device. She was sentenced to 25-years in prison, with five years of that sentence suspended. “One caveat  was that she was referred to the Patuxent Youthful Offender Program. That is only a recommendation. They have to accept her there. And upon release, she will be placed on a five-year supervised probation. One special condition of that probation is she stay away from all educational institutions,” says State’s Attorney Charlie Smith.

On March 23rd, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office was alerted by the staff at Catoctin High School about a journal with entries describing a plan to commit a “Columbine style” act of violence at the high school. The journal was written by Cevario, and discovered by her parents.

Detectives interviewed Cevario. “She admitted she had purchased several items in order to assemble pipe bombs,” Smith says. “Including pipes and caps,shrapnel, magnesium tape, fireworks. So obviously she went to great extent to purchase this material.”

Smith says Cevario planned to carry out this violence on April 5th, 2017. “She had planned to fill these pipes  with the explosive material located inside the fireworks, and detonate the bombs at the school on April 5th. She also in this journal  described  her intention to kill herself with a shotgun she had purchased,” says Smith.

He called this whole situation “scary.” “She had everything she needed to in fact to commit the Columbine style act of violence at the high school. Thank God her journal was discovered,” says Smith.

Even if Cevario is admitted to the Patuxent Youthful Offenders Program, Smith says it’s still incarceration. . “It’s still prison. It’s still barbed wire, razor wire. It’s still a Division of Correction facility. But the emphasis inside that facility is for rehabilitation and therapeutic measures,” he says.

In addition to the Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also involved in this investigation.

 

By Kevin McManus