2d student accused of slaying plot

MARSHFIELD -- Police arrested a second student yesterday, Joseph T. Nee, 18, on charges of plotting a deadly attack on Marshfield High School modeled after the Columbine massacre.

Nee, a senior, was one of the original tipsters who alerted police to the alleged plan, which police said included a scheme to kill eight named students, teachers, and administrators, possibly on the April anniversary of Columbine. Nee is the son of Thomas J. Nee, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen's Association, the city's largest police union.

Last month, police arrested a 16-year-old junior, identified by his father as Tobin Kerns, on charges of planning the attack. In a written statement released by his father, Kerns denied participating, arguing that his former friend, Joe Nee, was the mastermind.

Early yesterday morning, Nee was handcuffed and escorted from school by police. At his arraignment in Plymouth District Court, he pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mass murder and one court of promoting anarchy. Nee was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing Thursday and was taken to Plymouth County Jail.

Assistant District Attorney John P. McLaughlin told the judge that ''the physical evidence is strong" in the case.

Eric Goldman, Nee's lawyer, said there was no physical evidence linking his client to the alleged plot. Nee went to police in September, he said, because he feared Kerns would take the plan ''to the next level."

''Mr. Nee is certainly guilty of being a distraught teenager," Goldman said. ''He is guilty of making inappropriate comments, but he was the informant."

Authorities arrested Kerns a month ago after Nee and two other students came forward to reveal the alleged plot. Two weeks ago, when Marshfield police announced Kerns's arrest, they said they were confident Kerns was the ''primary mover" and that any other students involved were on the periphery of the plot. Yesterday, McLaughlin said that after Kerns's arrest, other students came forward to volunteer information to the police, convincing investigators that Nee had understated his role and was ''actively involved."

Yesterday, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz declined to respond to questions about other possible arrests, saying only that the investigation continues.

In court, Nee wore a black T-shirt reading, ''I do all my own stunts," cargo pants, and black sneakers. Hands and feet shackled, he sat quietly, occasionally casting his eyes downward.

McLaughlin told Plymouth District Court Judge Thomas F. Brownell that last December, Nee and Kerns -- whose name the prosecutor never mentioned since Kerns is being tried in Juvenile Court -- formed a group called ''NBK," for Natural Born Killers. The group's goal was ''to protect those at the high school who were being picked on," McLaughlin said.

According to prosecutors, Kerns and Nee subsequently became fascinated with the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, and Nee wrote a school report on the attack. One female student told police she was getting off the school bus last spring when Nee pulled what she believed was a black, .40-caliber handgun from his waistband and showed it to her, telling her ''how the school was going to be shot up," McLaughlin said.

He said another witness told police that Nee and Kerns brought him to a meeting under a bridge in the Humarock section of Marshfield, where they revealed their plan to attack the school and tried to recruit him to help them padlock some of the doors so people couldn't escape.

While at the bridge, the witness said, Nee pulled a list from his pocket containing the names of people they planned to kill. Nee and Kerns told the witness that they planned to have individuals armed with rifles on the rooftop of the school to thwart efforts by police and rescue personnel to respond to the attack, the prosecutor said.

In the application for Nee's arrest warrant, investigators alleged that he was involved ''in target practice and making and detonation of pipe bombs, and knife and axe throwing."

Goldman, Nee's lawyer, argued that he was not a threat, noting that after Kerns's arrest he had been in school until yesterday without incident. Goldman urged the judge to release Nee on bail. Goldman also said Nee did not have a gun. Investigators' reports on the gun conflicted, he said, noting that a police report called it a BB gun.

After Nee was taken away, his father turned to Goldman in the hallway outside the courtroom and said, ''Tell him I love him."

Kerns, who is being held without bail for 90 days after being found a danger to the community at a Sept. 30 hearing, has been charged in Juvenile Court with eight counts of threatening to commit a crime, two counts of promoting anarchy, and one count of attempt to commit a murder. Kerns's father, Ben Kerns, said he testified Friday before a grand jury that is hearing evidence in the case. Ben Kerns has said his son is not guilty of the charges.

Under state law, authorities initially must charge a 16-year-old as a juvenile before a suspect can be rearraigned as a youthful offender.

Students at Marshfield High School learned that a second student had been arrested yesterday morning when the principal, Robert Keuther, made an announcement over the school's public-address system. Keuther didn't name Nee, saying only that an 18-year-old student had been arrested.

But word quickly spread that Nee was the latest suspect charged. Some students, saying they had heard rumors of Nee's involvement in the alleged plot, were not surprised.

''Everyone knew it was going to happen," said Molly Benoit, a senior. ''People have been freaking out. Everyone's been talking about it. Some people didn't want to be in classes with Joe."

Some students wondered why Nee hadn't been arrested earlier.

''Personally, I'm glad Joe's gone from here," said Kyle Carlson, a 16-year-old junior who said he had crossed paths with Nee a number of times.

''And if you knew Toby [Kerns], and I do, you'd know he wasn't capable of anything like blowing up the school."

Marshfield's school superintendent, Thomas Kelley, informed parents of the school's nearly 1,300 students of the arrest.

''We are paying close attention to students' needs," he said later in an interview. ''The important thing is that the school is safe and continues to be safe."

In his written statement after his arrest, Toby Kerns said Joe Nee was the instigator of the plot. In the statement, provided to the Globe by Kerns's father, Toby Kerns said Nee first told him in December 2003 that he planned to ''blow up the school and at the same time execute many of the students."

What prompted the friendship between the two teenagers to rupture was unclear yesterday. Authorities did not offer a theory, and the teenagers' fathers and their friends offered conflicting versions.

Yesterday, Thomas Nee said he did not believe his son had participated in the plot. He also said it was unfair that his son was being accused because he came forward and told police of the plan.

''I am awfully proud of my son for coming forward," Nee said, his voice cracking with emotion, and added that he was concerned the arrest would send the wrong message to other teenagers who might consider cooperating with authorities.

Nee, who said his son has no criminal record or disciplinary record at school, said he didn't know about the alleged plot or his son's plan to go to authorities until after Joseph Nee had met with police.

Yesterday, Ben Kerns expressed condolences for the Nees, saying, ''I would not wish the tragedy that this represents on any family." But, he said, Nee's arrest was a ''positive development" in his son's case.

Toby Kerns is being held in a youth detention facility in Taunton. His father hadn't talked to him yesterday, but had told him recently that he suspected Joe Nee would be arrested soon.

''He wasn't elated," Ben Kerns said. ''We're not malicious people. He thinks the truth is going to come out, and he's happy for that."

Yesterday, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who clashed bitterly with Nee over a two-year contract dispute that was settled this summer, expressed sympathy for his former adversary.

''It's unfortunate," Menino said. ''I support Tommy Nee. Anything I can do to help him I'll do."

Matt Carroll, Suzanne Smalley, Emily Sweeney, and Patricia Wen of the Globe staff contributed to this report, along with Globe correspondent Bob Carroll.Kathleen Burge can be reached at kburge@globe.com.