Kettering teen accused of murdering student skips hearing; trial set

A Kettering teen accused of murdering a Fairmont High School student in 2016 was not in court this afternoon as his trial date was confirmed.

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Dennis Langer said Kylen Gregory’s trial in the fatal shooting of Ronnie Bowers two years ago this coming Labor Day weekend will go forward May 7.

Defense attorney Jon Paul Rion said after the two-minute court session that the hearing “wasn’t an essential proceeding,” so his client’s presence wasn’t necessary.

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Langer recently ruled much of the evidence collected as a result of search warrants after the shooting of Bowers Sept. 4, 2016, will be allowed. He ruled a warrant for telephone records of two of Gregory’s relatives “failed to provide probable cause” for that evidence to be used in the case.

Gregory, 18, was 16 years old when the shooting occurred on Willowdale Avenue, and he is being tried as an adult on two counts of murder and related charges. He remains in juvenile detention, Rion said.

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Authorities and witnesses have said Gregory fatally shot the 16-year-old Bowers while the victim attempted to drive away from a confrontation.

Bowers died two days later - just after hours after Gregory and two other teens were initially charged in juvenile court – in what was ruled Kettering’s first gun-related homicide since 2007.

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