A Lackawanna County judge ruled Monday that charges against three teens accused in the homicide of a Scranton police officer can move toward trial.
Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle must now decide whether the teens will continue to be charged as adults or if they should move to juvenile court.
The stakes are high. Should any or all of the trio move to juvenile court, they would face a maximum of about three years in a juvenile facility because all three have turned or will turn 18 this month and the state can only retain custody until an offender turns 21. But a second-degree homicide conviction in adult court could come with a life sentence in state prison.
Nasiir Jones, 18, Tanner Curtis, 17, and Isiah Edwards, 17, have also been charged with murder of a law enforcement officer, involuntary manslaughter and armed robbery, among other crimes.
While pursuing the trio on July 11 for the suspected robbery, Scranton Patrolman John Wilding jumped or fell over a short wall and dropped 15 feet into a deep concrete landing, striking his head. Wilding, 29, died from his injuries a day later.
Second-degree murder is defined as a homicide taking place in the act of committing a felony.
At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing Monday that began Friday, Moyle ruled prosecutors had met their burden of proof and she moved all the charges against the teens forward toward trial.
Anyone accused of homicide in Pennsylvania must first be charged as an adult. The teens were all 17 at the time of the incident.
A psychiatrist testifying on behalf of Jones, who is accused of sparking the entire incident by holding up a man with a shotgun, said the teen reported wanting to do “one more bad thing” before getting a job and straightening out his life. Jones has a long juvenile history of mischief and crime, including assault and car theft, psychiatrist Dr. Larry A. Rotenberg said.
Testifying by speaker phone, Rotenberg said Jones had suffered from abuse as a child and struggles with a learning disability. Yet he has a “reasonable chance” for rehabilitation by the age of 21, noting much of his impulsiveness can be attributed to his adolescence and the lack of positive adult figures in his life. His father has been incarcerated and his mother has struggled with addiction.
In an aggressive cross examination, Deputy District Attorney Gene Riccardo questioned the reliability of Jones’ responses to the psychiatrist’s evaluation, noting the teen had left out many of his bad acts at various schools. The prosecutor also said Jones had another incident where he flashed a handgun at a group and threatened to shoot them.
Dr. Stephen M. Timchack, a psychiatrist called by the defense for Edwards, recounted the severe physical abuse, neglect and transience the teen had suffered at the hands of his father, as well as a mother who has been incarcerated for a significant portion of her son’s life. As a result of the abuse, he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, Timchack said.
At the end of his testimony, the teen’s attorney Robert Trichilo asked the psychiatrist if his client could be rehabilitated in a juvenile facility.
“I believe that if the quality and intensity is good, chances are he’ll have a favorable response,” Timchack said.
The psychiatrist was not cross-examined Monday because the prosecution had only received his evaluation the night before and needed more time to prepare, District Attorney Shane Scanlon said.
The teen’s father, Shawn Edwards, would not appear on his son’s behalf, Trichilo said. His grandmother, Joyce Edwards, 60, of Queens, New York, took the stand and tearfully explained the boy’s troubled upbringing. She also expressed her belief that her grandson could be rehabilitated.
Moyle will hear testimony today from more defense witnesses on the third defendant, Curtis, as well as testimony from witnesses called by the prosecution.