12-Year-Old Boy Arrested for 1st-Degree Murder
A 12-year-old suspect was arrested Tuesday night in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in connection with a deadly shooting in Omaha, Nebraska, officials told ABC News today.
The boy will be charged with first-degree murder alongside 15-year-old Shuntayvious Primes-Willis and 17-year-old Jamar E. Milton, police said.
The Douglas County Attorney's office initially said all three suspects would be charged as adults, but Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine later said that the 12-year-old would be charged in juvenile court.
A Nebraska statute that went into effect on Jan. 1 states that suspects under 14 must be tried in juvenile court.
The three suspects allegedly got Jamymell Ray, 31, to meet them at the northeast corner of Miller Park in North Omaha for a marijuana deal on June 29, Kleine told ABC affiliate KETV.
"All three suspects had guns. There were shell casings from two different types of guns at the scene," Kleine told KETV.
The three juveniles allegedly attempted a robbery during the drug deal and shot Ray at close range, police said. Ray died from his injures at Nebraska Medical Center, police said.
Bond was denied for both Primes-Willis and Jamar Milton, authorities said, adding that a preliminary hearing for both has been scheduled for July 31. It was not immediately clear whether the three suspects had attorneys.
Charles Fisher, 30, who was with Ray, was also injured in the shooting and taken to Creighton Hospital, police said.
"When you're sitting in a courtroom with someone who's in grade school, in effect, charged with this kind of a crime, it really shocks everyone," Kleine told KETV. "There is no question in my mind that there are gang connections."
The U.S. Marshals Service Metro Fugitive Task Force got information about the 12-year-old boy's whereabouts in Minneapolis and arrested him "without incident" just before midnight last night, U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Chris White told ABC News today.
The 12-year-old has family connections in Minneapolis, White said, but could not comment further on the suspect's connection to Minneapolis.
The 12-year-old will go through court proceedings in Minneapolis before being extradited back to Omaha, White said.
Authorities are still investigating how the 12-year-old got from Omaha to Minneapolis, and White said authorities know he did not get there himself.
"It's a difficult thing to wrap your head around," White said. "We have arrested kids under 16 for homicide, so this is not the first time, but this is definitely the youngest arrest and it has the most unique circumstances."
Editor's note: This report has been revised to reflect the fact that the District Attorney said the 12-year-old will be tried in juvenile court, updating an earlier statement all three suspects would be tried as adults.
