Deal for teen who stabbed classmates balances justice, mercy, prosecutor says

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PROVO — A 16-year-old boy who attacked five classmates in a Mountain View High School locker room pleaded guilty to the final charge against him Thursday.

Luke Dollahite faced five charges of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, for stabbing four classmates and attacking a fifth with a bo staff. He admitted to four of the counts in juvenile court last week, while the final count was transferred to district court where Dollahite faced the charge as an adult.

Shackled at his hands and ankles, Dollahite, a tall teenager with bushy brown hair and a beard, stood quietly by his attorney as 4th District Judge Christine Johnson asked how he was pleading to the charge.

Dollahite leaned down to the microphone and responded calmly, "Guilty."

Deputy Utah County attorney Sam Pead said Thursday that in light of the crime's shocking violence, prosecutors always intended to push for Dollahite to face criminal consequences in the adult system.

"I don't think the punishment that could take place in the juvenile system would have been sufficient," Pead said. "This kind of case warrants adult criminal punishment."

The deal that splits the case between juvenile and district court, allowing Dollahite to receive treatment and care in juvenile custody while he's eligible and then moving him to prison later, "provides an appropriate balance of justice and mercy," he said.

Dollahite is currently beginning a sentence in juvenile custody, which will be followed by a prison sentence for the final charge. While attempted aggravated murder carries a statutory prison sentence of 15 years to life, prosecutors agreed as part of Dollahite's plea deal to recommend a lesser term of 10 years to life, with the possibility of receiving credit for the time he serves in the juvenile system.

The sentence will be decided at a June 22 hearing.

Pead praised Dollahite, his parents and his attorney for working with prosecutors to reach a resolution in the case.

Dollahite's attorney, Mike Esplin, declined comment Thursday.

Dollahite dressed in red, expecting "a lot of blood," when he went to the boys locker room on Nov. 15 and attacked five classmates at random, intent on killing as many people as possible before taking his own life, charging documents state.

As teachers backed him into a corner, Dollahite stabbed himself in the neck. He and the five victims survived.

One boy who was stabbed in the neck repeatedly when Dollahite returned to him after stabbing another teen suffered permanent paralysis to his right arm. Another said in court that Dollahite's blade passed mere millimeters from vital nerves, and if they had been severed, he almost surely would have died.

Dollahite was diagnosed after his arrest with personality disorders and persistent depression, according to a memorandum of understanding regarding the plea deal. His parents said in court last week they had been unaware of the mental illness that fueled their son's attack.

Prior to the incident, school district officials said Dollahite was a straight-A student and had no prior disciplinary issues. The boy had been home-schooled and enrolled at Mountain View in August, according to the district.