Utica teen accused of shooting security guard will be tried as an adult
The 16-year-old accused of shooting a Utica school security officer in the back of the head while the officer was trying to break up a fight in the parking lot after the Thomas R. Proctor High School football game on Saturday will be tried as an adult.
The decision was made during a court hearing on Thursday, a hearing that had originally been scheduled for Friday, Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara said.
“Generally, what that means is — then it proceeds to grand jury,” he said.
The case should make it before the grand jury within the next month, McNamara said. If the grand jury votes for an indictment, the teen’s name can then be released to the public, he said.
The teen has been charged with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon (on school grounds), criminal possession of a firearm and first-degree criminal use of a firearm.
Security officer Jeff Lynch, who was shot in the Saturday afternoon fight, was released from the hospital earlier in the week.
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The attempted murder charge carries a maximum penalty of 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison, McNamara said. If he isn’t convicted on that charge, the first-degree criminal use of a firearm charge has a maximum punishment of 15 years, he said.
If the teen is convicted as an adult, he would start his sentence in a facility for youths and then get moved into a state prison when he turns 21.
And that is the difference between being tried as an adult in the youth division of Oneida County Court and going through family court as a juvenile, McNamara said. Family court might send the teen to a group home, but it is about rehabilitation and services, not punishment, he said.
Given the seriousness of the charges, he wants the teen tried as an adult for the transparency in Oneida County Court, McNamara said.
“I think it’s very important to show the public and to show the community that we’re going to hold this person accountable,” he said. “And this isn’t just going to be swept under the rug in a family court where no one’s going to know what happened.”
A felony hearing scheduled for Friday was also bumped up to Thursday, but the defendant’s lawyer waived that hearing, McNamara said.
Police are still investigating and trying to determine the identities of others involved in the post-football fight. McNamara has not, at this point, heard of anyone else involved who is age 18 or older, and can be charged as an adult.
Another teen is believed to have had a knife during the fight, but the knife wasn’t used so that teen will likely remain in family court, McNamara said.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Teen suspect in Proctor football shooting facing charges as adult
