Title: Mother says teens' plot to kill police just a prank

Source: The National Post, Tuesday, January 04, 2000

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The National Post

Tuesday, January 04, 2000

Mother says teens' plot to kill police just a prank

The Canadian Press

BROCKVILLE - The mother of a teenager accused of plotting to kill a police officer on New Year's Eve said yesterday that her son and his two friends were only playing a game.

Police say the three youths had concocted an elaborate scheme that involved killing an officer during a fireworks display to mark the millennium on Brockville's waterfront.

But Wendy Langlands said the alleged plot was just part of a game in which teenagers create characters and scenarios. Dillon Langlands, 18, Lance Williams, 21, and a 15-year-old, who cannot be named under provisions of the Young Offenders Act, were arrested Friday and charged with conspiracy to commit murder.

Ms. Langlands said it was all a misunderstanding. "They weren't going to do anything. It was just a game," she said. "My son isn't dangerous."

The charges were laid after a two-day investigation by Brockville and Ontario provincial police into an alleged plot to storm a police command centre during New Year's festivities. Police said the plan included stabbing a police officer inside the centre, stealing a cruiser and fleeing into the United States across a nearby international bridge.

Police said they heard about the plot from two citizens who overheard conversations in the days leading up to New Year's Eve. One caller picked up cellular telephone conversations on a scanner.

The suspects were arrested just hours before the downtown millennium events and fireworks were scheduled to begin.

At one point, Chief Barry King, of the Brockville police, considered cancelling the festivities and issuing a province-wide alert to other police departments to take precautions.

"This is an odd charge for the city of Brockville. It doesn't happen every day so you wonder if it is a hoax," Sergeant Ed Stone said. "But the investigation indicated this was what was planned. There are independent witnesses to the conspiracy."

Detectives said they found evidence indicating the planning had gone on for months and included other crimes to obtain firearms, ammunition and supplies.

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