Glitch forces continuation of juvenile bind-over hearing
Oct. 17—LIMA — A procedural snafu, followed by a terse, animated and prolonged conversation between attorneys and an Allen County judge, forced a temporary halt on Monday to a hearing scheduled to determine if a Lima teenager will be tried for murder as an adult.
Following testimony from Lima Police Department Detective Steve Stechschulte surrounding the events of June 10 of this year which culminated with the shooting death of Lima resident Jayden Halpern, Monday's hearing to determine whether Kayrese Garner will be tried as an adult took a sideways turn.
Lima attorney Kenneth Rexford, representing Garner, asked Stechschulte if he had brought with him to court copies of videotaped police interviews with the six defendants, two adults and four juveniles, charged in Halpern's death.
A defense subpoena issued by Rexford had ordered the detective to furnish copies of the interviews to the court. Stechschulte said he did not have the copies.
During his time on the witness stand as a witness for the state of Ohio, Stechschulte said each of the defendants he interviewed has offered varying versions of what had taken place on June 10 at Halpern's residence on West Lane Street in Lima. The detective said he could not recall exactly which defendant offered which version of events.
Rexford told Allen County Juvenile Court Judge Todd Kohlrieser that was exactly why it is necessary to have video of each interview available for review.
"The state's case is based on a single witness (Stechschulte) whose memory is different from mine as to what was said by each of the defendants," the defense attorney said. The judge ordered Stechschulte to deliver the videos to the court by the end of the week and said a date would be set to resume the hearing.
Garner, who was 17 at the time of Halpern's death, is one of four juveniles charged with murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary in connection with the incident. Roselyn Thomas-Lewis, 15, faces identical charges, while 17-year-old Bryanna Houston was ordered to stand trial for Halpern's death as an adult.
The judge previously had ordered Brianna Patrick, 16, to undergo a mental health examination to determine her amenability to being rehabilitated within the juvenile justice system.
Two adult males, Keion Darden, 18, and Jaquan Glenn, 18, are being tried as adults in Allen County Common Pleas Court on identical charges.
Stechschulte testified Monday that three males, led by Garner, forced their way into the entryway of Halpern's house immediately prior to the shooting. Garner reportedly was carrying an air rifle that resembled an AR-15 assault rifle while the two other males reportedly also carried guns, although the air rifle was the only weapon recovered by police.
Stechschulte said that when David Halpern, Jayden's father, saw what he believed to be an assault rifle he fired one shot but his son stepped in front of the bullet and was struck in the back. The boy stumbled back to his bedroom, where he collapsed on his bed and died.
Assistant Allen County Prosecuting Attorney Josh Carp told Kohlrieser the state believes probable cause does exist to bind Garner over to adult court.
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