Teen guilty of six felonies

Jurors could not unanimously agree if Alexander Robert Youshock deliberately threw a lit pipe bomb directly at a Hillsdale High School security aide in an attempt to kill her — resulting in a 9-3 hung jury on one of seven charges against the teen.

A few hours after hearing additional arguments on two charges stemming from the Aug. 24, 2009 attack, jurors came back hopelessly deadlocked on the second count of attempted murder but found Youshock guilty of exploding a device with the intent to kill.

Youshock remained emotionless during the reading, much as he has throughout the trial, while some jurors closed their eyes and one put her head in her hands. Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti and defense attorney Jonathan McDougall took 15 minutes each Tuesday in a rare revisiting of arguments after jurors Monday convicted Youshock, 18, on five felonies including one count of attempted murder but asked for more input on two remaining counts of attempted murder and exploding a device with an intent to kill.

The verdicts join those reached Monday when the jury found Youshock guilty of premeditating and trying to murder his former chemistry teacher, Meghan Spalding, exploding a destructive device with intent to commit murder, possessing a destructive device in a public place, using explosives in an act of terrorism and possessing a deadly weapon.

The convictions means Youshock, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and is portrayed by the defense as schizophrenic, will have a sanity phase in which jurors decide if he knew what he was doing and if it was wrong. This process is set to start Monday and Guidotti told the court she would hold off on deciding if Youshock will be retried on the attempted murder charge until after that phase because it "does not affect the balance of the trial.”

He faces life in prison or, if found insane, hospitalization.

The bomb-laden teen went to school Aug. 24, 2009 wanting to kill teachers he deemed "guilty” of ruining his life and leaving the principal guilt-ridden.

After five months of planning for "D-Day,” Youshock arrived on campus with a chain saw, 10 homemade bombs and a foot-long sword. He was never able to start the chain saw and was tackled by a teacher before anyone was injured. During trial, which has spanned more than three weeks, jurors were asked to decide if Youshock is a would-be killer who knew what he was doing or a mentally ill teen who confused reality with fantasy and couldn’t intend to kill anyone.

One unresolved count Tuesday morning was the premeditated attempted murder of Jana Torres, the aide who responded to a teacher’s call for help after Youshock tried starting the chain saw inside a classroom building. Youshock lobbed a lit pipe bomb on Torres as she ran toward him but she avoided injury by jumping over the explosion.

"We all know she was not an original target of the defendant,” Guidotti said, but once she entered the hallway she was "a person who became a problem for the defendant.”

Torres triggered Youshock abandoning the chain saw and short-fusing the bomb he threw at her, Guidotti said. In contrast, she added, Youshock did not act similarly toward other teachers and a student he encountered because they did not threaten his goal.

McDougall told jurors to revisit his client’s police interviews in which Youshock admits many actions but never mentions Torres or throwing a bomb at her specifically.

"I just tossed it in the hallway ... I really don’t remember,” McDougall read Youshock’s words from a transcript of the police interview. From a third questioning, Youshock said "I just wanted to get out of there ... I wasn’t really thinking.”

Although Guidotti told jurors Youshock was either lying or confused about Torres, McDougall said there was another answer.

"He didn’t see her. He wasn’t trying to do anything to Jana Torres,” he said.

McDougall reminded jurors when faced with two reasonable interpretations of events, the law requires them to accept the one pointing to not guilty. But Guidotti told jurors Youshock’s actions spoke louder than any words he spoke — or rather, didn’t speak — to police after his arrest. She also recalled Youshock’s testimony that he planned to kill the teachers and "anyone who got in his way.”

Although the jury hung 9-3 on that count — a slight variation from the 10-2 split announced Monday — it did find Youshock guilty of throwing an explosive device with the intent to kill. In her remarks Tuesday, Guidotti told jurors they could believe Youshock meant to kill somebody specifically or simply people congregating in the hallway.

Again, McDougall pointed to Youshock’s own words in which he claims he "just took [the pipe bomb] out” and didn’t form any specific intent.

During the guilt phase, McDougall also argued Youshock is incapable of forming intent because of his schizophrenia.

After hearing from both attorneys, the jury retired to begin deliberating again and alerted the court at 2:10 p.m. of its conclusion.

The jury foreman told the court "the arguing this morning was spot-on for what we needed” but that the members just couldn’t reach unanimous decisions.

The sanity phase begins Monday morning and is scheduled to conclude by Wednesday.

Youshock remains in custody without bail. Attorneys could not comment on the verdicts because the trial remains ongoing.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.