Court Hearings Delayed For Kansas Teens In Alleged Riverton School Plot

COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) -- A judge has postponed hearings on whether four teenagers should be tried as adults on charges of plotting to shoot up a southeast Kansas high school.<br/><br/>Those hearings had

Tuesday, May 16th 2006, 11:19 am

By: News On 6

COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) -- A judge has postponed hearings on whether four teenagers should be tried as adults on charges of plotting to shoot up a southeast Kansas high school.

Those hearings had been scheduled for Tuesday. The attorney general's office says the delays were granted at the request of defense lawyers.

Five students were arrested April 20th on suspicion of plotting to open fire at Riverton High School. The oldest -- 18-year-old Charles New -- already faces prosecution as an adult.

Status hearings for 16-year-old James Tillman and 15-year-old Andrew Jaeger were rescheduled for July 10th. 17-year-old Robert Hunt and 16-year-old Caleb Byrd now face hearings on May 31st.

All five are charged with incitement to riot and making a criminal threat. Tillman faces an additional charge of solicitation to commit first-degree murder.