One teen pleads ‘no contest’ in Chester horse shooting, prosecutors seek to try others as adults

One of three Chester teens accused of shooting a woman’s beloved horse last month has pleaded no contest in court and likely faces time in juvenile prison, but prosecutors are attempting to charge the other two as adults in that and other crimes.

All three 16-year-old suspects, whose names have not been released, remain in the custody of the state Department of Juvenile Justice.

The mare named Grey was shot July 18. The bullet severed her spine, and the horse had to be put down.

In Family Court Monday, one of the teens charged in connection with that shooting and a Chester burglary entered a no contest plea, which means he did not admit guilt but accepts the punishment of a guilty plea, said Sixth Circuit assistant solicitor Karen Fryar. Family Court sentences cannot extend last past a defendant’s 21st birthday.

Sentencing will come within two months.

But the other two teens could face charges as adults, which could be far more severe for convictions of malicious injury to animals and burglaries.

In court Monday, Fryar asked Family Court Judge Coreen Khoury to transfer the other two to adult court for prosecution. A decision on that request could come within a month after juvenile justice officials conduct an investigation into the horse shooting and the teens’ histories, including school and other records.

If the teens are prosecuted as adults and convicted, they could face sentences as long as 30 years for the burglary charges, which police and prosecutors say happened before the horse was killed.

This story was originally published August 4, 2015 at 3:40 PM with the headline "One teen pleads ‘no contest’ in Chester horse shooting, prosecutors seek to try others as adults."