Teen accused of killing 10-year-old boy appears in miami-dade court
August 10, 2015
The teen accused of fatally shooting a 10-year-old boy nearly five months ago in Overtown admitted to the crime to the victim's mother, according to an arrest affidavit.
On Monday, E. Rowell, 18, stood before a judge in Miami-Dade court. Due to the fact that Rowell was just 17 when the shooting occurred, the judge sent him to juvenile court. There, it will be up to the juvenile system to decide whether to prosecute Rowell as an adult, NBC Miami reported.
The other teen believed to be involved in the shooting did not appear in court, however, both teens were being held without bond on Monday.
At a news conference on Monday afternoon, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes said that the teen's case will be reviewed for adult court.
Fernandez Rundle said that all children's lives matter, black lives matter, and the lives of everyone in this community matters.
She said it matters to all of them and to the community; it matters to the police and to their office. Though they know this won't bring much sense of peace to the family, she hopes they'll find some justice – some kernel of hope in the arrests that were made.
Rowell was arrested over the weekend by Miami Police; he was charged with
first-degree murder in the shooting death of M. Eason, 10. A 15-year-old boy was also arrested in connection to the killing; he was charged with second-degree murder.
The investigators used shell casings to link the two teens to the March murders of Eason, and a 16-year-old victim, R. Hallman.
Eason, 10, was shot and killed during a drive-by-shooting as he played basketball outside of his home.
Llanes said that a child should be able to play in front of his house without fear.
According to the arrest affidavit, the boy's mother encountered Rowell and the other teen, who admitted to killing her son. The teens told her that they were shooting at a car with gang rivals inside.
The affidavit said that the boys said they shot Eason by accident and were apologetic.
The two teens were arrested for trespassing in April. As the arrest took place, the 15-year-old ran from the officers and tossed the firearm onto the roof of a nearby home.
Once the authorities located the weapon, they were able to link the firearm to the shell casings, according to NBC Miami.
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