An eighth-grader has been arrested and accused of shooting his father and fleeing the state after the pair got into an argument over the boy’s bedtime.
Per Fox 19 NOW, the 15-year-old from Forest Park, Ohio is being detained at the Hamilton County Juvenile Youth Court Detention Center. He was arraigned on Monday and charged with felonious assault and auto theft. His mother, older brother, and defense attorney all told Hamilton County Juvenile Court Magistrate Elizabeth Igoe that he should be released.
“We just want him to have a good environment around him because [he] is not a bad kid,” the brother pleaded. “He just may have had some issues that he was going through but [he] is not a bad kid at all.”
The boy’s attorney added he should be turned over “to whichever guardian is able to take him today.”
The alleged shooting unfolded at home on Wednesday, where authorities claim the boy shot his father once in the stomach, then stole a vehicle from a local business and drove more than 100 miles to Lexington, Kentucky. Forest Park police were aware he was en route to his mother’s house and remained in contact with Lexington police until he was detained, according to Lieutenant Adam Pape. It remains unclear where the boy got the gun.
Magistrate Igoe said the only way she would consider releasing the boy would be if there was a plan for him to remain in Hamilton County, where the crime was committed. She set a hearing for May 24 to give the family and attorney time to plan.
“He can’t stay with me, your Honor,” the father said to the court via a video call from his hospital bed. “It’s pretty much self-explanatory to see where I’m at. I feel like these little problems [have] been popping up and up, and I feel like it’s a slap on the wrist to let him out right now.”
Hamilton County Assistant Juvenile Court Prosecutor Jon Halvonik agreed with the father, as did Lieutenant Pape, who said the boy posed a “substantial flight risk” if released.
The magistrate asked the teen if he had anything to say, and he responded that he would like to be bonded out.
“Anyone who uses guns to hurt others should be locked up. Period,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters in a statement to Fox 19. “Especially those who have proven themselves to be a flight risk.”
He continued, “There is an attitude that juvenile offenders should never be locked up because they are minors. But we have an entire facility specifically designed to house violent juvenile offenders. If someone who shoots their own father and then flees the state isn’t suitable to be detained at the Youth Center, then who is?”
