Lawyer for school shooting plot suspect to seek dismissal

RUTLAND, Vt. – A lawyer for a Vermont teen accused of plotting a mass shooting at his former high school says she plans to file a motion to dismiss the charges.

Eighteen-year-old Jack Sawyer, of Poultney, pleaded not guilty last month to attempted murder and other charges.

Police say he described detailed plans for a massacre at Fair Haven Union High School. Officials say a threat assessment was begun for the teen but never completed after Sawyer ran away and dropped out.

Sawyer’s arrest, and the deadly Florida high school shooting, has invigorated gun control efforts in the Vermont state Legislature.

The Rutland Herald reports that Sawyer’s attorney, public defender Kelly Green, said in court on Friday that she plans to seek the dismissal of charges, arguing the state hasn’t presented any evidence.