LISBON E. Liverpool boy pleads innocent in shooting

Prosecutors want the boy declared a 'serious youthful offender' under a new Ohio law.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- A 17-year-old East Liverpool boy is pleading innocent to several charges connected with an Oct. 27 shooting.
The teen, whose name is not being released by authorities, appeared for arraignment Tuesday before Judge Thomas Baronzzi of Columbiana County Juvenile Court.
The boy is charged with three counts of felonious assault and one count of receiving stolen property.
For a person convicted as a juvenile, each offense bears a maximum penalty of incarceration until he is 21 years old.
Seeking designation
However, the county is seeking to have the court declare the boy a "serious youthful offender" under a new state law, assistant county Prosecutor Nick Barborak said.
The designation would result in the boy's still being tried in juvenile court, but he could receive an adult sentence in addition to a juvenile sentence. The adult sentence for felonious assault is up to eight years in prison and 18 months for receiving stolen property.
The adult sentence would be served if a review at the conclusion of the juvenile sentence determines that the adult sentence is warranted. A major factor in that determination is whether the court finds that a youth has been rehabilitated through his juvenile sentence.
A hearing on the serious youthful offender status will come at a later date.
Mental evaluation
Judge Baronzzi granted a motion to have the boy mentally evaluated to determine his mental functioning and whether he is competent to stand trial.
The judge also ordered that the boy continue to be held at the county juvenile detention center.
Authorities are saying little about the crime.
They're alleging that the boy fired a .40-caliber handgun at a car carrying three people in East Liverpool.
Alvin Buntin, an adult whose age unavailable, of 1554 Globe Street was struck seven times by the gunfire. The other people in the car weren't hit.
Buntin was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital after the shooting, and has since been released.
The charges
The three felonious assault charges result from the fact that the car that was shot at contained three people.
Authorities have charged the boy with receiving stolen property in connection with his possession of the handgun, which they say was stolen.
Barborak refused to discuss the possible motive behind the shooting. "We're still trying to determine that," he said.
He also would not say whether the boy knew Buntin.