Teens charged in Chester horse shooting also suspects in crime spree, remain jailed
The three teens charged with shooting a Chester County horse July 18 are suspected of a crime spree of burglaries in Chester, and one of the teens could face prosecution as an adult for the burglary charges, officials said Monday.
The three suspects, all 16, are charged by county deputies as juveniles with felony malicious injury to property in the July 18 shooting of the mare named Grey. Yet all three were arrested July 21 for four Chester burglaries before each was charged with shooting the horse, said 16th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Karen Fryar.
One of the three teens could be tried in adult court for the charges if a Family Court judge approves prosecutors’ request to waive him up to adult court because the charges are so serious, Fryar said.
State law says if a 16-year-old is charged with a crime that carries a sentence of 15 years or more, the juvenile can be charged as an adult. Frayer said the state made its motion during a hearing last week, putting in motion a “lengthy and complicated” waiver process that includes a psychiatric evaluation and an investigation.
“The judge cannot rule on our motion until there’s a full investigation,” Fryar said.
The three had a required custody hearing in Family Court in Lancaster County – part of the same Sixth Judicial Circuit as Chester County – Thursday and all were kept in state custody at a juvenile jail in Columbia, court officials said.
Prosecutors have the right to ask a judge to waive a 16-year-old juvenile up to adult if the crime is considered severe enough to warrant adult prosecution. A Family Court judge must agree before the case is moved.
Only two of the teenage defendants are eligible to be waived up to General Sessions, Fryar said. The third defendant is charged with malicious injury to property and second-degree burglary, neither of which carries more than 15 years, so he will remain in Family Court.
Tyre Lee, a public defender for juveniles in the Sixth Circuit, said Monday he represents one of the three defendants charged as a juvenile and confirmed that the juvenile faces charges from both county and city police, but declined to comment on the cases. His client is not the one waived up to adult court.
Devon Nielson, a second public defender, represents one of the other defendants but could not be reached for comment. It is unclear who represents the third juvenile. The teens are expected in court again within the next 10 days as juveniles held in custody have the right to a second detention hearing.
Under state law, a child who is detained is entitled to another hearing within 30 days of the 10-day hearing and at any other time with a showing of good cause. A child cannot be detained more than 90 days unless the court determines “exceptional circumstances” warrant additional detention.
The 13-year-old mare was mortally wounded July 18 at a home on Pressley Road and later had to be euthanized.
Authorities have said the teens fired a single shot from a rifle that struck the horse in the shoulder and spine before they drove away, but declined comment on the motive or how the teens obtained the gun.
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This story was originally published July 27, 2015 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Teens charged in Chester horse shooting also suspects in crime spree, remain jailed."