16-year-old charged in Roy High bomb plot, but prosecutors want him certified as adult

OGDEN — Prosecutors filed a motion Tuesday asking that a 16-year-old boy accused of orchestrating a bomb plot at Roy High School be tried as an adult.

The motion to certify Joshua Kyler Hoggan as an adult and move his case out of juvenile court came at the same time a charge of use of a weapon of mass destruction, a first-degree felony, was filed against the teenager in 2nd District Juvenile Court.

Hoggan and Dallin Todd Morgan, 18, were arrested Jan. 25 after a student at the school alerted officials of some disturbing text messages. Police believe the pair was planning to bomb the school during an assembly and escape on an airplane they intended to steal from nearby Ogden-Hinckley Airport.

In the motion to certify Hoggan as an adult, prosecutors listed various reasons for moving the case from the juvenile court to the adult district court, including:

• "These offenses were especially serious given the fact that the offense was directed against the entire student body and staff of Roy High School as well as the threat of extensive property damage."

• "The alleged offense was committed in an aggressive, violent, premeditated and willful manner."

• "The offense was directed against a number of people."

• "The threat was against a school."

• "The defendant's emotional attitude, pattern of living, environment and home life demonstrate that he has sufficient maturity to appreciate the seriousness of these charges and to be tried as an adult."

Prosecutors also believe Hoggan's case should be in district court because Morgan, a fellow high school senior and his co-defendant, is facing charges there as an adult. Morgan faces the identical charge of use of a weapon of mass destruction, a first-degree felony, and is scheduled to appear in court for an initial appearance Wednesday.

Police did not locate any explosives, but the elements of the charges against both Morgan and Hoggan include possessing, displaying, attempting to use, soliciting the use of, or conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction, or that they assisted, encouraged or solicited someone else to do the same.

According to a police affidavit filed Jan. 26, Hoggan sent a number of text messages detailing the plan and explaining that he and Morgan wanted "revenge on the world."