Judge to decide whether teen accused in murder of jail officer to be tried as an adult

SOUTH BEND — A series of sharp "pops" rang out in a St. Joseph County courtroom Monday as prosecutors played an audio recording from a doorbell camera that captured the sounds of the June 26 drive-by shooting on Milburn Avenue that killed 28-year-old Rhema Harris.

As the sound of the gunfire filled the chamber, one woman rushed out of the courtroom in tears, her blue and silver "Deputy Rhema Harris" bracelet visible as she did so. Harris worked at the St. Joseph County Jail as a corrections officer and a handful of family and friends waited in court Monday to see if a teenager who participated in the drive-by shooting that killed her would be tried with her murder as an adult.

Prosecutors say the boy, who was 14 at the time, went along with a family member and some friends to shoot at a girl his family had been feuding with in Mishawaka. The boy was reportedly in the backseat of the vehicle involved in the drive-by and fired a handgun towards the residence with multiple people in the backyard.

The boy is charged with murder, attempted murder and criminal recklessness for his role in the incident, with prosecutors saying the severity of the offense merits his case being moved to adult, or superior, court.

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Meanwhile, Marielena Duerring — an attorney representing the boy — emphasized that the boy's 17-year-old uncle, Braxton Bird, was the one who was initiated the feud and who led the group to go shoot the girl's house. Duerring also said that the boy, who is now 15, should stay in probate, or juvenile court, because the juvenile system is best suited to provide the education and counseling he needs.

That decision now rests with St. Joseph Probate Magistrate Graham Polando, who took the matter under advisement after a hearing Monday and who will issue a ruling in the coming days.

The Tribune is not naming the boy unless and until he is waived to adult, or superior, court.

Unintended target

Officials allege Braxton Bird targeted the house on Milburn Avenue for a shooting because Braxton was mad at a girl who lived there. According to testimony by Mishawaka police detective Matthew Porter on Monday, Braxton was arrested in February for robbing the house of one of the girl's relatives and blamed the family for getting him in trouble.

Braxton and his girlfriend had messaged threats to the girl, Porter said, asking the girl to fight them, but she refused.

Then on June 26, Braxton, his nephew and three other people drove a silver Chevy Impala to the girl's house on Milburn, circled the home twice before pulling into an alley behind the residence and opening fire, per court documents and testimony. Harris was a family friend and often stayed at the residence. She was in the kitchen of the residence when she was fatally shot.

People at the house, as well as the three individuals in the Impala at the time of the shooting, identified Braxton and the 15-year-old as the shooters and said the pair fired multiple shots while the girl Braxton was mad at was in the back yard with other family members. Braxton was in the car's passenger seat and fired a rifle, while the other teen was in the backseat shooting a handgun, the witnesses said.

A number of bullets holes were found in the house, though investigators could not determine which gun fired most of them. An autopsy reveled the shot that killed Harris was fired by a rifle.

Accomplice liability theory

As a 17-year-old at the time of the shooting, Braxton's criminal case has been automatically waived to adult court, by Indiana law. Because the boy was younger than 16 at the time of the incident, however, Polando must approve the motion by prosecutors to try the 15-year-old as an adult.

Indiana law states a probate, or juvenile, court shall waive jurisdiction to superior court in cases that would involve murder if committed by an adult, “unless it would be in the best interests of the child and the safety and welfare of the community for the child to remain within the juvenile justice system."

In his closing argument, deputy prosecutor Mark Roule said that though the boy did not fire the bullet that killed Harris, his willingness to participate in the shooting means he should be charged with murder due to the theory of accomplice liability as he "aided, induced or caused" Harris' murder. Roule also said concerns about the boy's learning disabilities shouldn't cause Polando to forget the severity of the offense.

"We can say he's frustrated by his learning disability and could benefit from some tutoring. But it's murder," Roule said.

The St. Joseph County Juvenile Probation Department, also recommended the boy be moved to adult court based primarily on the severity of the charges because any sentence imposed against the 15-year-old in juvenile court could last only until the teenager turned 21.

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In her closing remarks, Duerring challenged the state's assertion that the teenager should be charged with murder, saying the evidence presented did not prove the boy's intent was to kill Harris, nor does any physical evidence show he was aiming at the jail officer or any other person. Instead, Duerring painted the shooting as being wholly orchestrated by Braxton, with the older teen bringing both weapons and disposing of evidence afterword.

"All the information points to Braxton's plan, Braxton's engagement and it was Braxton who fired the fatal shot," Duerring said, saying her client's conduct amounts to criminal recklessness, not murder.

Braxton is charged in adult court with murder. There are no hearings scheduled in his case as of Monday.

If Polando decides to keep the 15-year-old's case in probate court, the matter could still go to trial, though trials for juveniles are decided by the presiding magistrate as opposed to a jury.

The superior court system generally has more severe sentences should a defendant be convicted of a crime, as dispositions in probate courts are often focused on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Indiana’s sentencing guidelines for murder are 45 to 65 years in prison.

For his part, the boy sat quietly wearing a blue sweatshirt with his hair in a small bun as he watched the hearing progress.

Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Judge to decide if teen involved in jail officer's murder is tried as an adult