Boy’s preliminary hearing delayed

By Katie Seminara

Jordan Brown was moved to a juvenile detention center Wednesday.

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Jordan Brown of Wampum, Pa., will have to sit tight in a detention center until the end of March.

The 11-year-old’s preliminary hearing originally scheduled for today was pushed back to March 24, Lawrence County District Attorney John Bongivengo said.

Jordan has been charged with killing the 26-year-old fianc e of his father, Christopher Brown, and her unborn child.

Kenzie Marie Houk, who was eight months pregnant, was found shot to death Friday in the couple’s Wampum-New Galilee Road farmhouse.

The defense asked to have the preliminary hearing postponed, Bongivengo said.

“We are now dealing with four days of rumors and speculation,” said Dennis Elisco, who is serving as Jordan’s defense attorney.

Elisco said he is looking forward to more evidence being produced by the time of the preliminary hearing.

The evidence that was collected is still being analyzed and the investigation is ongoing, Bongivengo said.

Jordan, who is charged as an adult with criminal homicide, was in an adult prison until Wednesday.

Elisco said he’s “very relieved” to have Jordan moved to a more suitable facility.

“That was my initial goal,” he said.

The Allencrest Juvenile Detention Center in Beaver, Pa., is highly regarded and a safer place for Jordan, he said.

“Most importantly, it’s equipped for kids,” Elisco said.

Jordan will be able to have some normalcy at Allencrest, including starting school work again.

Also, while at the detention center, Jordan will go through psychological and psychiatric evaluations to determine if “he is amenable to juvenile rehabilitation,” Elisco said.

The justice system seeks to punish and deter adults, whereas it seeks to rehabilitate juveniles, he said.

“I think [Jordan] is a candidate for that,” he said of his client’s having the capability of being helped.

Elisco will also be petitioning for the case to be moved to juvenile court. That request has not yet been filed, he said.

“It’s hard to say without psychological evaluations what needs to occur,” Bongivengo said of where the case will be heard.

Based on the evidence, what Jordan is accused of and how he possibly did it, Bongivengo said, “it raises questions in my mind whether he’s suitable for juvenile court.”

“Ultimately, it will be the judges’ decision,” he said.

Jordan’s bail hearing is tentatively scheduled for Monday but will likely be postponed to follow the preliminary hearing, Bongivengo said.

A case of this magnitude is new to Bongivengo, as well as the community.

“I don’t think anyone in New Castle has ever dealt with something like this,” he said.

It’s shocking to the community, especially because of the age factor, Bongivengo said.

“Each juvenile is different; you don’t know what they were thinking,” he added.

Jordan is a fifth-grader at Mohawk Area School District, and the administration at the school made sure they gave the pupils a chance to discuss what they were thinking about the situation.

During the week, counselors and child psychologists have been on hand to answer questions and to talk about the feelings of teachers and pupils, said Dr. Timothy McNamee, district superintendent.

The district wanted to give pupils, as well as faculty, an “avenue to talk about questions and feelings they had,” he said.

Professionals talked to individual classrooms and were also able to talk to pupils individually as needed, said Assistant Superintendent Kathy Kwolek.

Mohawk educates about 1,800 pupils and covers 110 square miles. Within the community, the school serves as the “center for activity,” McNamee said.

“[The school] is a focal point, and in times like this it’s a place where community members look for help,” said Kwolek.