Teenager sentenced to jail time in Westmont Hilltop attack plot case

May 31—EBENSBURG, Pa. — The second of two teenagers accused of planning a shooting at Westmont Hilltop Junior-Senior High School in 2021 was sentenced to jail time on Wednesday.

Preston Robert Hinebaugh, 18 — who in March entered no-contest pleas to two counts of conspiracy to commit terroristic threats and one count of firearms not to be possessed by a minor — was sentenced in Cambria County court to consecutive terms of one to 12 months and one to six months in Cambria County Prison, plus three years of probation.

A no-contest plea means that the defendant does not have to admit to the crime with which he or she is charged, but does acknowledge that there is enough evidence for prosecutors to win a conviction. A no-contest plea carries the same weight as a guilty plea.

Matt Zatko, Hinebaugh's attorney, said that Hinebaugh made a decision on Dec. 7, 2021, that changed his life forever, but did not realize what he was doing at the time.

Zatko said that Hinebaugh and the other teen charged in the case, Logan Pringle, 18, knew each other from attending Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center.

Hinebaugh and Pringle were arrested after Hinebaugh, a Westmont Hilltop student, allegedly let Pringle into the high school on Dec. 7, 2021, and the two were spotted by surveillance cameras surveying locations, according to police.

Police said that they executed search warrants and discovered that Hinebaugh had access to five semi-automatic rifles. One was described as an AR-15 that was stored in his bedroom "without the knowledge of his parents," according to an affidavit.

But Zatko said that Hinebaugh did not know when the pair drove to the school that day that Pringle would follow him into the building.

He said that while many people believe there was a plot to attack the school, they have more information now than Hinebaugh did on the day of the incident, including why Pringle was no longer a student in the Westmont Hilltop district.

Pringle allegedly made statements years earlier about shooting up his former school. He had been expelled from the district in 2018 after he allegedly made threats and lit a carpet on fire with a match.

Zatko added that when Hinebaugh posted a photo of Pringle to Snapchat with the caption "He's back," all he meant was that Pringle was back at his old school. It was not meant to be a threat, the attorney said.

Hinebaugh told the court that he was sorry for the incident.

"The mistake I made punished not only me, but my family," he said. "I'm sorry to the community for the anxiety that I caused."

Cambria County District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer argued that Hinebaugh had allegedly told others that Pringle was back to finish what he had started, and said that footage from the school showed Hinebaugh letting Pringle through a locked door.

"This is not a simple misunderstanding. It just isn't," Neugebauer said.

Westmont Hilltop School District Superintendent Thomas Mitchell told the court that the incident highlighted vulnerabilities in school safety and prompted changes at the district.

"This was a very scary and serious incident," Mitchell said, adding that an appropriate sentence was needed.

Bishop Joseph McGauley, pastor at Jefferson Memorial Church, addressed the court and spoke on behalf of the teen. The pastor said that he felt Hinebaugh was worth a second chance and comes from a good family.

Judge David J. Tulowitzki said that he read all of the letters submitted by friends and family of Hinebaugh and said that, "unfortunately, good people sometimes do bad things."

"We have a terrible problem in schools, especially with assault rifles, and we're not going to solve it today," the judge said when issuing his sentence.

"It appears that the Upper Yoder Township police probably averted a tragedy that day," Tulowitzki said, adding that it is unknown for sure because only the two teens really know what happened.

"Logan Pringle probably had a plan, but he needed a gun," the judge said.

As a part of his sentence, Hinebaugh will be prohibited from owning firearms, living in a home where there are firearms and being on school grounds.

Pringle was sentenced in October to three to six years in state prison, followed by 10 years of probation. He had pleaded no contest in August to three second-degree felony counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, one third-degree felony count of criminal trespass and one misdemeanor count of terroristic threats.