Three people, including a bus driver, were shot and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Dayton police said. The gun used in the shooting belonged to the 17-year-old’s mother and was taken without her permission, the prosecutor said.
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office filed a motion in February asking that the Montgomery County Juvenile Court relinquish jurisdiction in the case and that it be transferred to adult court. During a press conference announcing the charges and the motion to transfer, Heck said youth who commit violent crimes must be held accountable.
“We’re not talking about shoplifting. We’re not talking about taking something or stealing something. We’re talking about serious crimes and we’re talking about felony crimes,” Heck said. “In this particular case, the defendant showed absolutely no concern for the safety of others.”
Montgomery County Juvenile Judge Anthony Capizzi denied the motion to transfer in August. Court records show Capizzi found the allegations accuse the child of having a gun and one victim was an unintended bystander. But he also found that the child had not been adjudicated a delinquent in the past and that “the child acted provocation by two of the victims in allegedly committing the act charged.”
The judge noted the third victim was not involved in the provocation.
“The child, at 17, is mature physically, emotionally and psychologically, but also has done relatively well in detention while this case is pending and seems willing and capable of accepting positive direction,” Capizzi wrote in the decision. “There is sufficient time to rehabilitate the child within the juvenile system and the level of security available in the juvenile system provides a reasonable assurance of public safety.”
The judge found the teen is amenable to treatment in the juvenile system. He did order the teen to remain in custody pending trial which is scheduled to begin on Nov. 21.
Because the teen will not face adult charges, the Dayton Daily News is not identifying the juvenile. A message to the teen’s attorney, Anthony VanNoy, wasn’t responded to.
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