Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 6, 1994 TAG: 9404060057
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The youth, who was not identified because of his age, was held without bail in James City County. A 17-year-old co-defendant was charged with murder and held in lieu of $250,000 bond, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Michael McGinty said Monday.
Police said the boys are brothers.
Neither McGinty nor police would say they believe the 13-year-old was the trigger man in the slaying of Robert P. Morris during a robbery at a 7-Eleven store in Lightfoot early Saturday.
In Virginia, only the trigger man may be charged with capital murder, which can carry the death penalty.
However, the death penalty apparently cannot be imposed in this case. Capital punishment applies only to people tried as adults, and state law says no one younger than 15 may be tried as an adult. The maximum punishment for offenses in juvenile court trials is detention to age 21.
McGinty said a judge will decide at an April 29 hearing whether to try the 17-year-old as an adult.
Police were called to the store by a customer about 2:30 a.m. Saturday. They found Morris, 57, who had been working alone, dead on the floor behind the cash register. He had been shot in the head.
Less than $10 was taken from the store, police said.
The two teen-agers were arrested after a Charles City County sheriff's deputy spotted a truck belonging to a relative of Morris' stopped on the side of the road. The truck was stolen from the 7-Eleven parking lot.
The two fled the truck when the deputy approached, but police quickly caught them. Police found a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol in the truck.
Williamsburg attorney David Holland, who is representing the 13-year-old, declined to comment on the case. Thomas Turbeville, the older boy's attorney, said he will challenge the state's effort to try his client as an adult.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB