South Bend student accused of stabbing classmate over THC vape to stay in detention
SOUTH BEND — A 15-year-old student accused of stabbing a classmate over a THC vape at Adams High School on Jan. 11 will remain in custody until his trial, a St. Joseph County judge ruled.
The boy's attorney and mother asked magistrate Graham Polando to place him under house arrest at a hearing Monday, saying the teenager's good behavior while detained at the Juvenile Justice Center and lack of a criminal record show he is not a risk to the community.
Prosecutors disagreed and Polando concurred, finding the severity of the acts the boy is alleged to have committed — armed robbery, battery and having a knife on school grounds — outweigh any mitigating factors.
"The potential harm to the community where they, or similar offense to be repeated is simply too great, at least without more definitive and extensive services in place," Polando wrote in his ruling on the matter.
Police and medics were called to Adams around 8:10 a.m. on Jan. 11 after teachers and the school's student resource officer found a student with stab wounds in a second-floor bathroom. The student told police five males attacked him, according to scanner traffic from the incident.
The victim was taken to the hospital while police detained and questioned "several" juveniles that morning, though only one has been charged in connection to the incident.
More: Teen accused of 'heinous' murder, armed robbery in Thanksgiving shooting appears in court
The boy was formally charged on Jan. 18, with officials saying he stole THC vape cartridges and money from his classmate at knifepoint before stabbing the victim in the left side of his back.
The victim is out of the hospital, but is still bruised and scared to go back to school, according to his uncle, who attended Monday's hearing. The man said he is in favor of the suspect remaining in custody while awaiting trial.
Proceedings against the boy are moving along in probate, or juvenile, court as as prosecutors have said they will not try to waive the teenager to superior, or adult, court. The boy has been in detention at the JJC since the incident.
The boy pleaded not guilty at his initial hearing and is currently set for a trial in late February.
Email Marek Mazurek at mmazurek@sbtinfo.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marek_mazurek
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Adams High School stabbing suspect denied request for house arrest
