|
 Blaec Lammers, 21, was convicted in January on charges of
first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Even though he did
not bring weapons to the theater or store, Missouri law allows for
the charges because he was gathering weapons and ammunition.
The charges were brought in November 2012 after his mother told
police he had bought weapons like those used months earlier in a
shooting at a Colorado movie theater that left 12 people dead and
dozens wounded.
His mother has said she told police because she was trying to get
help for her son, who suffered from mental illness.
"You can't even have a thought of ever wanting to hurt anyone
because they are going to send you away to prison," Patricia Lammers
was quoted as saying by Missouri TV station KOLR after the judge
handed down the sentence.
Police said Lammers had told them he bought two assault rifles and
400 rounds of ammunition and planned a mass shooting at a movie
theater in Bolivar, Missouri, a city of about 10,000 residents 30
miles north of Springfield.
He also said he was worried about running out of ammunition and
planned to go to a Wal-Mart in Bolivar, where he could get
ammunition and shoot people there, police said.
[to top of second column] |
Lammers has been held without bond since his arrest.
Judge William Roberts dismissed a charge of making a terrorist
threat, finding that Lammers had not threatened anyone before his
arrest and only disclosed his plans to police later, prosecutors had
noted.
(Reporting by David Bailey; editing by Jon Herskovitz and Cynthia
Osterman)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
