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Juvenile may face adult murder trial
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - March 08, 2012)
Juvenile may face adult murder trial
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Geauga County Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Grendell on Tuesday set a hearing for April 3 to determine if there is probable cause to bind Thomas "T.J." Michael Lane III, 17, over to the adult court.
The hearing in April is a response by Geauga County Prosecutor David Joyce's motion to move the case to the adult court.
The boy is the defendant in the shooting of five students at Chardon High School Feb. 27. Three of the students died, and two were wounded after multiple gunshots were fired about 7:30 a.m. in the school cafeteria.
He faces three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault in connection with the shootings.
Mr. Grendell explained the nature of the charges against T.J. Lane and reviewed possible consequences. He could remain in the juvenile system or transfer to the adult court.
Standards for trying a juvenile as an adult require that a person is over 14 years of age and the acts committed constitute felonies if committed by an adult.
Mr. Grendell said good cause was shown to keep T.J. Lane in incarcerated. He was transported Tuesday to the Portage Geauga County Detention Center.
The boy's grandparents, Jack and Carole Nolan, of Munson, accompanied him to the hearing.
T.J. Lane's main attorney, Robert N. Farinacci, has added two more attorneys as co-counsels to the defense team. They are from Mahoning County and are familiar with criminal defense and juvenile law.
Shortly after T.J. Lane's initial appearance last week, Mr. Joyce said there was no apparent motive for the shooting and that the shooter did not know the victims.
"He chose his victims at random," Mr. Joyce said. "This is not about bullying. This is not about drugs. This is someone who's not well."
If convicted as a juvenile, T.J. Lane will not face a death penalty because of a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling which determined that executing juveniles is unconstitutional. He could receive life in prison without parole.
Carl Henderson, a former Geauga County sheriff and neighbor of T.J. Lane's grandparents, said the accused shooter often stayed with them grandparents on weekends. He described him as a "nice young man" who was always polite with him.
He said he spoke with the grandparents shortly after the shootings and was told that it appeared that the gun described as being used, a .22-caliber revolver, was found missing from a barn on their property that day. He said the family, including T.J. Lane, often did target practice on the property.
"The family is in shock," Mr. Henderson said.
He said T.J. Lane appeared to be in a good mood the day before the shootings.
Funerals were held over the last week for Demetrius Hewlin, 16, Russell King Jr., 17, and Daniel Parmertor, 16, who were fatal victims in the shootings. Nickolas Walczak, 17, remains in critical condition and was transferred this week from Hillcrest Hospital to Cleveland Metrohealth Medical Center for rehabilitation. Joy Rickers, 18, was released last week from Hillcrest Hospital.
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