What to Know
- Twenty-year-old Gregory Lepsky, of Point Pleasant, pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to provide material support to ISIS
- He was arrested in 2017 when police were called to his family home after he threatened to kill the family dog
- His plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of 16 to 19 years and a lifetime of supervision upon his release
A New Jersey man accused of planning to build a pressure cooker bomb and use it in New York City in support of the Islamic State pleaded guilty to federal charges Tuesday.
Twenty-year-old Gregory Lepsky, of Point Pleasant, pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
Lepsky answered basic yes or no questions during Tuesday's appearance in federal court in Trenton.
He was arrested in February 2017 when police were called to his family home after he threatened to kill the family dog. Authorities found a pressure cooker in Lepsky's bedroom closet. Subsequent searches of computers and other digital evidence turned up signs that he planned to build and set off the bomb, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey. He also sent social media messages saying he would become a martyr if necessary.
His plea agreement calls for a prison sentence of 16 to 19 years. Once he completes that sentence, he will be under supervised release for the rest of his life, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey.
Sentencing is scheduled for June 19.
