Thursday, September 26, 2013
By joe gorman
youngstown
Two juvenile suspects in a string of robberies on the North Side had court dates in Mahoning County juvenile court Wednesday.
Prosecutors have filed motions asking that 17-year-old Michael Curry and 16-year-old Laekwon Brown be tried as adults for the robberies.
Each is charged with two counts of aggravated robbery with specifications that a gun was used to commit the crimes.
Wednesday’s hearing was a pretrial hearing in which prosecutors met with defense counsel and turned over evidence to them. The motion filed to bind Curry and Brown to common pleas court was not heard.
A second pretrial hearing will be at a later date.
The two have been in the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center since they were arrested Sept. 10 and 12, respectively, in connection with the robberies, some of which occurred near Youngstown State University. Most of the victims were YSU students who lived on the North Side.
In the robberies, two armed males in all-black clothing with their faces covered, who witnesses said looked like teens, would approach people and demand money. Investigators said they mostly took cash, credit cards and small electronic items, such as iPads or cellphones. Police said investigators had an idea shortly after the robberies occurred who was involved.
Most of the robberies took place in mid- to late August when YSU students returned for the fall semester. The last one occurred Sept. 9, and Curry was arrested two days later after a search warrant was served at his house. Among the items found by police were two guns, cellphones and clothing that was linked to the robberies.