Pennsylvania teen lauded by Bush admits theft

The teen lauded by President Bush for his role in defusing a possible Columbine-style assault at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School admitted yesterday that he later burglarized the bedroom of the would-be attacker.

Lew Bennett III, 14, was one of three male Plymouth Township ninth graders who acknowledged their participation in two burglaries last month at the home of Dillon Cossey, who admitted in October that he had stockpiled weapons to attack the school.

Police learned of the threat through Bennett.

Cossey, 14, was ordered in January to complete a rehabilitative program in Western Pennsylvania. He had no ammunition for the guns police seized, and authorities said they did not believe an attack was imminent.

During yesterday's hearings at the Montgomery County Youth Center, Deputy District Attorney Sharon Giamporcaro said police were contacted by an assistant principal at Plymouth-Whitemarsh on Wednesday because students had been approached by Bennett, who was trying to sell items taken from Cossey's bedroom.

Interviewed by police, Bennett said he and one of the other boys broke in through a "rear, unsecured window" in mid-February and took items that included an iPod, air guns and an Xbox 360, Giamporcaro said.

Bennett's accomplice and a third teen, returned to the Cossey's Plymouth Valley home last week, stealing additional items such as jewelry and electronic game components that were split with Bennett, Giamporcaro said.

She said Bennett sold an Xbox 360 controller to a fellow student for $20.

The hearings before Montgomery County Court Judge Joseph Smyth were not closed to the public because the juveniles are 14 or older and are charged with felonies. The Inquirer is identifying Bennett because of his previous role in the Cossey case and his meeting with Bush.

Questioned separately about whether they understood their admissions - like guilty pleas in adult court - the boys, all wearing detention-issue kelly green T-shirts, said yes.

Smyth said the teens, none of whom had previous brushes with the law, would receive psychological evaluations. He said their admissions to felonies could expose them to detainment until age 21.

Disposition hearings, the adult equivalent of sentencings, will be scheduled within 20 days.

Ward Cotton, one of the defense attorneys, described his client as "sorry and frightened," and said he would argue for probation.

"My hope is that he can be rehabilitated and helped through probation," he said.

Bennett's attorney, Brian McLaughlin, said the judge would hear more about his client's thought process at the next proceeding, but suggested that the intense attention the teen's actions prompted, including that from the White House, may have influenced his behavior.

"That's a lot of notoriety to deal with," he said.

Bush was in the area for a fund-raiser on Oct. 30 when he greeted Bennett at Philadelphia International Airport, hailing him as a hero.

The parents of all three teens attended the hearings and had no comment. No one connected to the case has provided any motive.

Dillon Cossey received national attention after police found four homemade hand grenades, a 9mm semiautomatic carbine, and other weapons in his bedroom. Bennett, a friend of Cossey's, confided to his parents about Cossey's plans after Cossey obtained the gun.

During the investigation, authorities learned that Michelle Cossey had purchased three guns for her son, which resulted in weapons charges against her, which are pending.

Dillon Cossey's father, Frank E. Cossey, was jailed last month after failing a drug test. He had been under house arrest for trying to buy his son a rifle and not disclosing a 1981 manslaughter conviction that made him ineligible to purchase a firearm.