Patrick Yevsukov, Student Accused of Bombing Making Sentenced

ROCKVILLE - Patrick Yevsukov says he came to the Montgomery County Courthouse Wednesday a changed man.

"I'm in school right now. I have a 4.0 GPA, I'm on the student council and I'm working to do everything I can to give back to the community and become a different person," said Yevsukov.

He is now a 19-year-old college student. He was 17, when he was arrested and charged for working with a friend, Colin McKenzie-Gude, to build and amass an arsenal of guns and bombs.

Yevsukov is charged with manufacturing and possessing an explosive device.

His lawyer says McKenzie-Gude was Yevsukov's only friend at the time. She says Yevsukov lived in a chaotic home where his own father taught him to build bombs when he was just 8 or 9 years old.

"I'm a lot more outgoing now. I'm able to talk with a therapist weekly about how I feel. I'm living a normal teenage life now," said Yevsukov.

Judge Louise Scrivener told the defendant, "I think you've done an incredible job of turning things around in your life. You have a huge amount of potential. You've shown you don't need to see a jail cell to say 'My life is not going in the right direction.' "

The judge sentenced Yevsukov to 13 years and three months with all of it suspended, so he will serve no jail time. He will spend three years on probation and do community service.

"It's an exceptionally reasonable sentence. It's been a long two years and Patrick has done anything and everything that's been asked of him, both by any judge, pretrial supervision and the government," said attorney Rene Sandler.

If all goes well for them, Patrick Yevsukov and his lawyer plan to eventually return to Montgomery County Court. They hope to get these criminal charges expunged from his record. He says that would put on a path to his ultimate goal, to become a lawyer.