Teen to be Tried as Adult

A 15-year-old accused of plotting a killing spree will be tried as an adult on charges of murder conspiracy and carjacking, a judge ruled Thursday.

Superior Court Judge Louis F. Hornstine said that Cody Jackson was likely a follower of an older teenager charged in the plot and that he could be rehabilitated.

But Hornstine said he was moving the case to adult court in the interest of deterring others.

If convicted on both charges, Jackson would be sentenced to more than 40 years in prison.

Jackson and two other teens were arrested July 6 in the Philadelphia suburb of Oaklyn armed with guns, swords and bandoleers and pockets full of bullets.

Authorities said they intended to use the weapons to hijack a car and kill three enemies and then at random in their hometown before traveling to Missouri to meet up with a troubled online pen pal.

The oldest boy, Matthew Lovett, 18, is accused of being the ringleader. Lovett has been in the Camden County Jail on $1 million bail since the day he was arrested. He is charged with aggravated assault, murder conspiracy and carjacking.

A younger boy, 14, agreed to a seven-year term in adult prison as part of a plea deal with prosecutors last month. He admitted to a single weapons offense and prosecutors dropped murder conspiracy and carjacking charges.

In five days of hearings over the last three weeks, Jackson's family, minister and a psychiatrist said he was not planning to kill the night he sneaked out after his curfew to meet up with Lovett and Olson.

Instead, they said, he was going along to try to keep Lovett from killing.

His family and others testified that the stocky teen is immature for his age, afraid of the gore of putting worms on fishing hooks and liked going to church on Sunday mornings after Saturday nights spent bowling with his family.

They described him as a boy under the spell of Lovett, who they say proclaimed himself an antichrist.

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Teen to be Tried as Adult

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