Three Brecksville Bridge Bomb Plot Suspects Plead Guilty
Brandon L. Baxter, of Lakewood; Connor C. Stevens, of Berea; and Douglas L. Wright, of Indianapolis, have all pleaded guilty to the charges against them in Akron before a federal judge on Wednesday.
Three men have pleaded guilty for their role in an alleged plot to blow up the state Route 82 bridge in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Brandon L. Baxter, of Lakewood; Connor C. Stevens, of Berea; and Douglas L. Wright, of Indianapolis, have all pleaded guilty to the charges against them in Akron before a federal judge on Wednesday, according to various media reports.
Facing life sentences on charges of conspiracy and attempted use of an explosive, they each changed their “not guilty” plea.
Sentencing is expected in November.
In July, Anthony Hayne of Lakewood, changed his plea to guilty and agreed to testify in the other cases.
The plea changes by the three suspects leave only Joshua Stafford, 23, of Cleveland, facing trial. He is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, according to NewsNet5.
Mike Tobin, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, did not return calls seeking comment on this story.
The men had hoped to use C-4 explosives to blow up the bridge, after deciding against other targets such as the Cuyahoga County Justice Center, the Federal Reserve Bank in Cleveland and the Detroit-Superior Bridge, according to an affidavit.
However, the men — working with an FBI informant — bought fake bomb-making materials from an undercover FBI agent.
The FBI has maintained that the public was never in any danger.
All five of the men — all fringe members of the Occupy Cleveland movement — were arrested earlier this year.