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Mountain View High stabbing suspect strikes deal in adult court

Posted at 11:15 AM, Apr 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-13 23:37:28-04

PROVO, Utah - A teen accused of stabbing five students and himself at Mountain View High School has struck a deal with prosecutors in adult court.

Luke Dollahite, 16, pleaded guilty to a single charge of attempted aggravated murder in Provo's Fourth District Court on Thursday. He faces 10 years to life in prison when he is sentenced in June.

FOX 13 typically does not name juvenile defendants. However, Dollahite was bound over to the adult court system in an agreement with prosecutors.

Under Thursday's deal, Dollahite will remain in juvenile custody for now. He pleaded guilty to four other counts in juvenile court. The Youth Parole Board will ultimately decide how much time he spends in detention before being transferred to the Utah State Prison.

"This is kind of an uncommon way of dealing with things, and it’s maybe a little unique in how we went about it," deputy Utah County Attorney Sam Pead told FOX 13. "This resolution is a really good outcome that balances the needs for justice but also recognizes some of the mitigating factors about his age."

Dollahite is accused of walking into Orem's Mountain View High School on November 15 with knives, a bo-staff and other items to "inflict physical violence against others," police wrote in charging documents. The court documents reveal Dollahite walked into the men's locker room and began stabbing people at random.

When questioned by Orem police, officers wrote about Dollahite's motive which included a suicide.

"Defendant clarified that it was his intent to kill people (describing going for the neck/jugular area when attacking) and that he wanted to feel what killing another was like prior to dying himself, and remarked that he was surprised he was able to try and kill more people than he expected. Defendant left behind a suicide note at his house in which he affirmed that he wanted to know what it was like to kill other 'person(s),'" officers wrote.

"Defendant also spoke freely about what he felt, thought, and observed when he hit and stabbed others intending to kill them and how that compared to what he thought it would be like, including describing the ease of forcing the knife in, some small areas of blood and some large areas of spurting blood, and how it looked to see someone go down dying or going unconscious. Defendant clarified that he did not target anyone for any reason, and merely went after who was available with the goal of creating as many victims as possible."

Pead said the victims were supportive of the plea deal.

"They’re remarkable people, especially the young boys. They’ve always wanted to see justice is served in this case, but they’ve also been sympathetic and empathic to Mr. Dollahite and his family for the situation they’re in now," he said.