SAN JOSE, California A 19-year-old California student who allegedly plot murder spree across his college campus pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to 122 criminal charges.

Al Deguzman could face more than 100 years in prison if convicted on all counts linked to Tuesday's alleged plot, which police say was thwarted at the last minute thanks to a tip from a photo lab clerk who grew alarmed at pictures of Deguzman with guns, pipe bombs and other weaponry.

Deguzman, who appeared handcuffed, shackled and chained at the waist, said nothing during his brief arraignment at Santa Clara County Superior Court.

His lawyer, Craig Wormley, said after the arraignment that his client had "an innocent fascination" with bombs, and accused law enforcement of "a rush to judgment of a man who has no prior criminal history whatsoever."

Police arrested Deguzman Monday as he arrived at a San Jose drug store photo department to pick up a roll of pictures that apparently depicted him displaying weapons and explosives. The clerk, the daughter of a local police officer, had grown uneasy over the pictures and phoned the authorities.

After searching Deguzman's room at his parent's San Jose home, police said they turned up a massive cache of arms and a detailed plan to attack the De Anza College campus in Cupertino, about 45 miles (70km) south of San Francisco, at precisely 12:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

An Iranian student of commerce law at the college, Shirin Darbani, said in an interview with the TEHRAN TIMES that Deguzman had planed to plant 30 bombs in the campus.

"They all evacuated the school, but it was on time, he had planted no bombs" she said.

Police say the alleged plot was centered on the school's cafeteria and could have killed as many as 50 people if it had been executed.

As a precaution police ordered the evacuation of some 12,000 people from the De Anza campus Tuesday as bomb squads swept the area looking for pipe bombs or other explosives which might have been planted in advance, Reuter said on Friday.

Law enforcement officials have described Deguzman, a former high school yearbook editor, as filled with rage and hate. They say his writings repeatedly hail Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the teenage gunmen who killed 15 people including themselves in a bloody shooting spree at Colorado's Columbine high school in 1999.

While Deguzman's lawyer said his client's weapons collection and columbine musings simply reflected an active fantasy life, the prosecutor in the case disagreed.

Deguzman has been charged with 122 felonies, including possession of explosives, possession with intent to cause great bodily injury and possession of a sawed-off rifle and shotgun. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 108 years 8 months in prison.

(Reuter)