Saturday, June 26, 2004
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A judge has ruled there is enough evidence for a 14-year-old to stand trial in the shooting death of a man during a robbery last month.
"We heard from two witnesses, one who saw [the boy] with the gun and heard shots and the other who saw [the boy] fire," Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Thomas Lipps said Friday. "That is more than enough."
The hearing was the first of two in which the judge will decide if the boy should be tried as an adult or remain in juvenile court. The teen is charged with aggravated murder and aggravated robbery in the May 13 death of David Hutchinson.
The youth is also accused of fatally shooting George Vance on May 17, but that case was not part of Friday's hearing.
Both killings were connected with robberies. Hutchinson was robbed of money and Vance of drugs, police have said.
Precedent
Five juveniles have been charged with homicides in Cincinnati this year. The 14-year-old is the youngest. In Ohio, 16- and 17-year-olds charged with murder are automatically tried in adult court.
The ruling did not surprise the boy's attorney, Assistant Hamilton County Public Defender Terry Weber.
But Weber said, "Just because they found probable cause, that doesn't mean the boy is guilty. There is a much lower threshold for probable cause."