Teen Pleads Guilty in Shooting Plot

A teenager accused with two others of plotting a shooting rampage pleaded guilty Wednesday to weapons possession in a deal with prosecutors.

Christopher Olson (pictured), 14, had been fighting the transfer of his case to adult court. But on Wednesday, the teenager agreed to plead guilty to the weapons offense in adult court, and Assistant Camden County Prosecutor Diane Marano dropped charges of carjacking and conspiracy to murder.

Olson's lawyer, William C. O'Brien Jr., said prosecutors offered the plea deal Tuesday after the first day of a hearing to determine whether Olson and the 15-year-old would be tried as adults or juveniles.

"Facts that showed my client was a more peripheral player in the events" led the prosecutors to offer a deal, O'Brien said.

Vincent P. Sarubbi, the Camden County prosecutor, said Olson was "less culpable" than the other two teens.

Prosecutors have recommended that Olson be sentenced to seven years in a facility for young adult offenders, with no possibility of parole in the first three years. Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 17. Olson will remain in the Camden County juvenile detention center until then.

Agreeing to plead guilty as an adult rather than a juvenile means Olson will have a criminal record throughout his life.

Olson, Cody Jackson, 15, and Matthew Lovett, 18, were arrested July 6 in the Philadelphia suburb of Oaklyn after a botched carjacking attempt. Authorities said they had several weapons belonging to Lovett's father, including rifles, a shotgun, several handguns, swords and 2,000 rounds of ammunition, and were planning a shooting rampage in the town.

All three were charged with carjacking, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons offenses. Lovett was also charged with aggravated assault. He is being held in the county jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

In the adult court system, punishment for those crimes could be more than 40 years in prison. In juvenile court, the maximum would be 10 years' confinement -- though shorter terms would be likely.

Olson's father, Joe, has said his son went along with the other teens because Lovett forced him. Joe Olson stood by that statement Wednesday afternoon when he showed up for a scheduled hearing in the case unaware that his son had pleaded guilty earlier in the day.

A police detective testified Tuesday that Christopher Olson remained on the curb as the other two teens tried to hijack a car.

As he pleaded guilty, the rail-thin Olson said initially that he did not intend to use the gun he was carrying.

"I was aiding the others," he said.

When pressed by Superior Court Judge Samuel D. Natal, he said he would use the gun to commit a crime.

"I had a mind we were going to hijack a car," he said.

Olson's plea did not change the legal status of the other juvenile defendant, and Jackson's lawyer on Wednesday continued to fight the prosecutor's efforts to have his case moved to adult court.

It was not certain when the judge would rule on the request.

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