VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The man convicted of plotting to bomb students and teachers at Landstown High School in Virginia Beach was in court Friday after being arrested the day before on child pornography charges.
A spokesperson from the Virginia Beach Police Department confirmed with 10 On Your Side that Philip Bay was arrested on 20 counts of child pornography.
Police say Bay was arrested at the Virginia Beach Municipal Campus and a SWAT team with rifles and shields surrounded the townhome on Saville Garden Way in Virginia Beach Thursday morning at about 10:30.
Video from neighbors obtained by 10 On Your Side shows Bay’s mother, Lisa Bay, was taken out of the home in Virginia Beach in handcuffs, but her role in the case is unclear.
Bay was convicted 12 years ago of a plot involving Landstown High School. Investigators said they found 28 pipe bombs, Molotov cocktails, and other explosive devices, as well as multiple sawed-off shotguns at his home in 2009. It came out during trial that he would go into the nearby woods to practice with the explosive devices.
Bay was convicted two years later on a total of 18 charges, including 12 charges involving explosives, four charges related to terrorism, and two weapons charges for possession of sawed-off shotguns.
Defense attorney James Broccoletti represented Bay during that case. He told WAVY Thursday that he entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. Two mental health evaluators, one each for the defense and the Commonwealth, concluded that Bay was insane, but reached that conclusion for different reasons. The prosecution went forward and the jury convicted Bay in February 2011, nearly two years after his arrest.
A judge sentenced Bay to a total of 68 years on the 18 felonies but suspended 56 years, leaving an active sentence of 12 years. Bay served 8 years and was released and put on probation in October 2019.
Bay grew up in the same house that police raided Thursday, a well-maintained middle class neighborhood off Holland Road. But the peace was shattered when SWAT officers, armed with rifles and shields likely because of Bay’s experience with explosives, used bullhorns to demand the residents of the home to come out with their hands up. According to neighbors, Bay lived there with his mother, and they would occasionally rent the extra bedroom to military members.
Neighbors say Bay would bully other kids growing up, and once knocked a child of his bike and then took it. On another occasion, Bay dressed all in black and stood outside a neighbor’s home staring at him. Others said Bay was quiet and not a problem since his return to the neighborhood in late 2019.
During the trial for the bombing plot arrest in 2009, prosecutors said Bay chose April of that year to mark the 10th anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School in 1999 in Colorado.
If convicted on any of the new charges, any or all of the suspended sentence of 56 years could come back into play. All 20 child pornography charges list an offense date of October 12, 2022, indicating that authorities may have been building their case for several months.
Bay appeared in a Virginia Beach courtroom Friday for a video arraignment. He remains in jail without bond while facing 20 charges of possession of child pornography.
He refused to do an on-camera interview. 10 On Your Side went to his home, where we saw his mother, and we spoke to a neighbor. We were there Thursday when the Virginia Beach Police Special Investigation Unit showed up at Bay’s home.
Since his arrest Thursday, police have not said much more on what led to the arrest, and there is still no court paperwork involving the case that has been filed in the court clerk’s office.
Earlier in the day Friday, 10 On Your Side was at Bay’s home, where he lives with his mother, who was wearing a hat and getting out of the car to go into the townhouse.
Asked if she was surprised by the charges, she said, “no comment.”
She was not in court when the judge read the charges against her son.
A neighbor who did not want to be identified told us that “Bay has been lifting weights, trying to get his life back in shape. … He would build crafts in the front yard, and he had a girlfriend.”
Asked if there was anything wrong or strange going on at the Bay home, the neighbor said, “no, never.”
During the arraignment, Bay was given a July 7 determination of council hearing. He told the court that Eric Korslund will represent him. Korslund was co-council for Bay in the Landstown incident.
10 On Your Side called Korslund, and he confirmed that an attorney in his office did meet with Bay, and the details are still being worked out.
Bay remains in jail without bond. The judge told him he will not have a bond hearing until he has representation, which is set to be determined July 7.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.