Delaware County teen waived to adult court; charged in fatal drug overdoses
MUNCIE, Ind. — A 17-year-old Delaware County youth has been waived into adult court and charged with participating in events that led to fatal overdoses for two other local teens.
Jaxon W. Engle, of rural Albany, was charged Wednesday in Delaware Circuit Court 1 with dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, and aiding, inducing or causing the same offense. Both charges are Level 1 felonies carrying maximum 40-year prison terms.
At a Nov. 29 hearing in Delaware County's juvenile court, Deputy Prosecutor Diane Frye presented the testimony of police officers who alleged Engle was a participant in local fentanyl transactions that eventually led to the two overdose deaths — of an 18-year-old Muncie man in July and a 17-year-old Delaware County high school student in September.
At that hearing, Frye asked Amanda Yonally, a juvenile court magistrate, to waive Engle into adult jurisdiction, saying the teen was "beyond rehabilitation in the juvenile justice system."
The deputy prosecutor said that "just to make a little money, (Engle) sells (pills) and kills people."
More: Prosecutors want Delaware County teen charged as adult in fatal overdoses
Yonally signed the document waiving Engle into adult jurisdiction last week.
The magistrate noted Engle "had contact with law enforcement and the juvenile justice systems" in Delaware, Madison, Henry, Jay and Blackford counties, and has been the "subject of juvenile delinquency referrals for habitual disobedience, truancy, resisting law enforcement, theft, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, battery and leaving home without permission."
"The safety and welfare of the community is not served by maintaining Jaxon in the juvenile justice system," Yonally wrote.
Engle was also charged with three other counts Wednesday in Circuit Court 1 — dealing in a narcotic drug, conspiracy to commit dealing in a narcotic drug and aiding, inducing or causing dealing in a narcotic drug. All three charges are Level 5 felonies with maximum six-year sentences.
In a separate Circuit Court 1 case, he was charged Wednesday with fraud and counterfeiting. Testimony at the Nov. 29 hearing indicated Engle used counterfeit money to purchase a computer from a Ball State University student.
Engle — who will observe his 18th birthday in May — is being held in the Delaware County Juvenile Detention Center.
At last month's hearing, family members of both overdose victims urged Yonally to allow Engle to be prosecuted as an adult.
The father of one victim recalled his own troubled teen years, and suggested he might have had fewer problems overall had he been waived into adult jurisdiction rather than repeatedly appearing in juvenile court.
Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman this week issued a statement stemming from that father's testimony.
"Contrary to the ill-advised opinion of some in society, prosecuting juveniles as adults for committing serious or violent adult crimes is most definitely in the best interests of both the juvenile and society," the prosecutor said.
"The face of the matter is soft-on-crime alternatives to incarceration for juveniles and adults are often not the best option for the offender or society."
At the Nov. 29 hearing before Yonally, Engle's attorney, Ana Quirk, maintained it would be in her client's best interest "to remain in juvenile court."
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Delaware County teen waived to adult court; charged in fatal drug ODs
