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Judge refuses to move Michigan school shooting suspect to juvie

Defense attorneys argued 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley should be housed in a juvenile detention center, but the judge said an adult jail is suitable considering the charges.

PONTIAC, Mich. (CN) — The 15-year-old sophomore accused of terrorizing his Michigan high school with a shooting rampage that killed four and injured several others faced a state judge Monday who denied a request to move him from an adult jail to a juvenile lockup.

Ethan Crumbley of Oxford was charged as an adult with terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. His parents are also facing charges.

On Monday afternoon, Oakland County District Court Judge Nancy R. Carniak allowed the statutory time limit for a probable cause hearing to be waived and set the next court date for that hearing for Jan. 7, 2022.

Defense attorney Paulette Lofton, appointed to represent Crumbley, said that it was the right thing to do.

“I want to make sure we are able to view all of the discovery before we form a decision whether or not we will be holding the preliminary examination,” she told the judge.

Attorney Deborah H. McKelvy, appointed guardian ad litem for Crumbley, was concerned about his current location in lockup and suggested a move to juvenile detention.

“I do have concerns that his confinement at the Oakland County Jail…I’m not sure he is fully away from the sounds of adult inmates. I do have concerns for him and his emotional and mental well-being,” she said.

McKelvy said Crumbley would be fine at the Oakland County juvenile detention center, called Children's Village, where he could have more human contact and attempt to have some normalcy.

“I’m not being humorous when I say this, but he could still at least be at school…he is still 15 years of age," she said.

Lofton spoke up to agree with McKelvy that Crumbley could be housed in a juvenile facility.

“I honestly do not believe that my client should be considered a menace…this is someone who has never been in trouble before,” she implored.

Assistant prosecuting attorney Marc Keast adamantly disagreed.

“This cannot be compared to any other case…calling this an isolated incident does not do it justice,” Keast said.

He added, “This was mass murder in a school, judge, this was planned. This court has already made a ruling that that the presumption is great that the juvenile committed the offense, and the juvenile is charged with first-degree murder.”

Keast also said Crumbley is monitored every 15 minutes at the jail for his behavior, eating habits and even his weight.

Carniak agreed with Keast and said the current location is appropriate but she said she wants to make sure Crumbley cannot hear adult inmates at the jail.

“His conduct could be a menace to other juveniles, I think his placement is appropriate,” the judge said.

Keast assured Carniak he would personally speak with Oakland County jail administrators to make sure Crumbley did not hear other inmates.

According to a pair of $100 million lawsuits filed against Oxford Community School District over the Nov. 30 shooting, social media posts from the Crumbley family should have caused officials to act but they were not taken seriously enough by school administrators such as Principal Steven Wolf, who is accused of dismissing the danger in an email.

“There is no threat at the HS…large assumptions were made from a few social media posts, then the assumptions evolved into exaggerated rumors,” Wolf allegedly wrote in a Nov. 16 email to worried parents.

On Dec. 3, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald announced that Ethan’s parents James Crumbley and Jennifer Crumbley will each face four counts of involuntary manslaughter for the shooting. They briefly fled from Oxford before they were apprehended in Detroit hours later.

McDonald said James Crumbley purchased the gun at ACME Shooting Goods in Oxford on Nov. 3 and Ethan was with him.

Days before the purchase, McDonald said another teacher reported Ethan when she caught him searching for ammo on his phone on Nov. 21.

School officials were ignored when they attempted to contact James and Jennifer, according to prosecutors, but Jennifer texted Ethan to playfully scold him.

“Lol. I’m not mad at you. You have to learn not to get caught,” she allegedly wrote.

On the morning of Nov. 30, another teacher reportedly became aware of disturbing drawings made by Ethan of a gun and of bullets hitting people. One of the captions read “blood everywhere.” McDonald said he later altered the drawings to cover up the violence.

When news of the shooting became public, McDonald said Jennifer reached out to her son via text.

“Ethan. Don’t do it,” she wrote.

Three students were pronounced dead the day of the shooting and a fourth victim succumbed to his injuries the next morning. Eight others were injured, including a teacher. The weapon used was a 9mm Sig Sauer SP 2022 pistol, according to Oakland County Sherriff Michael Bouchard. The suspect had at least two 15-round magazines, including one with seven remaining rounds.

Oxford, population 3,586, is in central Oakland County, about 40 miles north of Detroit.

The four students killed were identified as Tate Myre, 16, Hana St. Juliana, 14, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, and Justin Shilling, 17.

Categories / Criminal, Regional

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