TEEN GETS 8 YEARS IN ATTACK PLOT COLUMBINE-STYLE ASSAULT PLANNED AT QUARTZ HILL.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- A teenager accused of planning a Columbine-style attack at Quartz Hill High School has been sentenced to confinement in the California Youth Authority for up to eight years.

The boy, who will turn 17 in two weeks, was sentenced late Thursday after he admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit mayhem in Lancaster Juvenile Court, the equivalent of making a guilty plea in adult court.

``It was a negotiated settlement,'' said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

The boy, whose name has not been released because of his age, originally was charged with conspiracy to commit murder and making a criminal threat.

The boy's commitment to the CYA is for a maximum of eight years but he could be released sooner if CYA officials deem it is appropriate.

Co-defendant Johnny Alvarez Casas, 18, faces five years in state prison after pleading no contest in December to conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of bomb-making ingredients.

Casas was charged as an adult after a Sylmar Juvenile Court judge found that he was unfit to be tried as a juvenile.

Casas and the other boy acquired bomb-making instructions off the Internet and were planning the Valentine's Day 2006 attack that included shooting students and using improvised explosive devices, investigators said.

A sheriff's detective testified at Casas' preliminary hearing in June that the two teenagers intended to target teenagers who had made fun of them or were mean to them.

Authorities said the boys -- who dressed in the goth style characterized by black clothing and nail polish -- felt ostracized at Quartz Hill High and wanted to get revenge.

They were arrested in December 2005 after a girl contacted a Quartz Hill High vice principal.

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