Lincoln County jurors soon will consider the case of Donald G. Waters, who is accused of plotting a school massacre.

Waters, 18, didn't carry out his alleged threat on the students at Winfield High School, but police documents detail a plan nearly as frightening as the one that took place at Columbine High School in 1999.

Police said Waters, who was a senior last spring, planned to run through the halls and shoot as many people as possible. He was going to attack the school's resource officer first, get her gun and use it in the massacre, police said.

In addition, detectives recovered evidence from Waters' computer that showed he had researched how to build and shoot weapons. They also found a note Waters wrote that said in part: "I hate everything and everyone; I wanted everyone to die."

He had solicited the help of two other students to compile a list of students and staff members to kill, police said. One of the students reported Waters to the administration in April, and Waters was arrested. He's charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree assault. If found guilty, he could face five to 15 years in prison.

His case is set for a four-day trial before Lincoln County Circuit Judge Dan Dildine beginning Jan. 24.

Some of the allegations in the case, however, don't seem to agree with the testimony of several key witnesses during a preliminary hearing on June 2, when the case moved forward to trial, according to his attorney, Susan Roach.

Student George Ravenscraft testified that he thought Waters was joking about making a list of people he wanted harmed. Waters never mentioned any other plans related to a potential shooting, he said.

Ravenscraft said he became a little concerned when Waters talked to him about the possibility of making an electrically powered gun into a portable device. But it wasn't until the day after Ravenscraft's friend got into a physical altercation with Waters that Ravenscraft reported anything.

Another student, Joseph Lynch, who was arrested himself after he posted comments on Facebook about the situation, testified after juvenile charges weren't filed. Lynch, who is 17 now, reversed his earlier comments and said Waters never mentioned a so-called hit list to him. Waters asked Lynch if he wanted to join a club, and Waters said that members would make a list of people they didn't like.

Lynch also said that deputies asked him hypothetically how he would carry out a school shooting, and he is the one who mentioned attacking the school resource officer.

Other testimony revealed that Waters was the victim of a stabbing — in his hand — at the high school earlier in the year. He had only been a student at Winfield for a little over a year after he had disciplinary problems at another high school, Fort Zumwalt North. The 18 incidents included threats against other students and a teacher; they resulted in Waters' expulsion.

Waters' attorney said Waters was the victim of bullying at both his old school and the new one. Roach said he was not the aggressor in any of the incidents.

Police didn't find any kind of list or plot on Waters' computer. The weapons he looked at online, including an assault rifle and brass knuckles, were part of a school project Waters had been working on about World War II weaponry and normal teenage curiosity, Roach said.

As for the statement Waters made about hating everyone, testimony revealed that it was part of a longer statement that mentioned Waters' feeling before he found some new friends through something he called "the fandom."

Lincoln County Prosecutor Leah Askey said she feels comfortable with the evidence, including many witnesses who did not testify at the preliminary hearing.

"My goal, my job is to protect the citizens and try to make sure that justice occurs," she said. "I'm not going to take things like this lightly."

Roach said she believes police and the prosecutor had overreacted to the situation, in part because of fear about a repeat of Columbine.

Since the Columbine shooting, schools across the country have increased their emphasis on security, with evacuation plans, police presence and discussions about bullying. Many have adopted new programs and zero tolerance policies about any hinted threat.

Waters has been free on $50,000 bond and is working as a server at a local restaurant. He wants to go back to his high school, get his diploma and go to college.

"He's waiting because he doesn't want to get a GED; a GED has a stigma attached to it," Roach said.