DAYTON — Prosecutors have filed a motion to have charges filed against a 17-year-old moved into adult court stemming from the shooting at the downtown Dayton RTA hub in January.
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The 17-year-old has been charged with six counts of felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon, and tampering with evidence in connection to the January 18 shooting downtown, Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck said during a news conference Tuesday morning.
The teen’s case currently remains in juvenile court however the prosecutor’s office filed a motion Tuesday to have the case transferred to adult court due to the serious nature of the charges, Heck said.
“(The teen) showed absolutely no concern for the safety of others,” he said.
Injured in the shooting were three people including an RTA driver with all injuries described by police previously as non-life threatening. The incident began as a fight inside the bus that escalated into gunfire with three people hit.
One of the reasons the Heck’s office filed the motion to move the case involved was due to the short period of time the teen would face supervision by the juvenile court. The teen turns 18 in October and would only face a sentence and monitoring until he turns 21.
“In the juvenile system the longest a juvenile can be incarcerated or supervised is until they are 21 years of age. There’s no post-release control, no post supervision probation after 21, they are simply released and let loose,” Heck said.
“In this case, (the teen) turns 18 in October, meaning the longest he could be held is a little over three years, and that is simply not enough time for someone who shot three individuals.”
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Next in the case against the charged 17-year-old is a probably cause hearing in juvenile court, then the case could be moved into adult court after that hearing. However, due to the charges and age of the teen charged, its not an automatic transfer into adult court, unlike a charge like murder. A juvenile court judge will have the final decision if this case will proceed into adult court or stay in juvenile court.
“It’s still up to the juvenile court judge. I would think this would be a no-brainer and it would be transferred because of the facts and circumstances related to this case, the severity of the event, and serious injuries that were caused,” Heck said.
A second juvenile is charged in connection to the shooting but is facing one charge of tampering with evidence, Heck said. The prosecutor’s office is reviewing the case but a motion to transfer that case into adult court has not been made.
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The gun used in the shooting belonged to the teen’s mother who just bought the gun days before the shooting. The teen is accused of taking the gun without his mother knowing, however the gun was not properly locked away and did not have a trigger lock on it, Heck said.
“There is simply no reason why a juvenile, first of all should be in the possession of a firearm, and second of all firing a handgun in the middle of downtown Dayton inside a bus,” Heck said.
“There must be consequences when people commit crimes,” he said.
Heck noted there has been recent attention to an uptick in violent crimes involving juveniles, including the deadly shooting of a Lyft driver in late January.
“There’s been a lot of attention recently to the increase in crimes involving juveniles, and we’re not talking about shoplifting, we’re not talking about taking something or stealing. We’re talking about serious crimes,” Heck said.
Prosecutors are expected to release new details next week on the cases against multiple juveniles accused in the Lyft driver shooting, and other crimes involving robberies and car thefts.
We’ll continue to update this story as we learn more.
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