ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 30, 1996 TAG: 9607300098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
When 17-year-old Robert Reed was led into a Roanoke courtroom Monday, he faced more than a murder charge. Waiting for him was a new set of laws aimed at getting tough on juvenile offenders.
Reed, who was charged Sunday with stabbing Hurt Park resident Michael Dent to death during an argument, is the first juvenile accused of a violent offense in Roanoke to be subjected to laws that took effect July 1.
Under the old system, Reed's name would have been kept secret, his hearing in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court would have been closed to the public, and prosecutors would have had to persuade a judge to send the case to Circuit Court for an adult trial.
All that has changed.
"This is one of the exact cases that the new law was designed to address," said Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell. "Not only is the juvenile's name being made available to the public and it's an open hearing, but he will also ultimately be tried as an adult."
As part of the General Assembly's revamping of the state juvenile justice system, juveniles 14 or older charged with murder or aggravated malicious wounding will face adult trials automatically. For other violent felonies - including malicious wounding, rape and abduction - prosecutors will have the option of sending juvenile offenders to circuit court at their discretion.
Even though Reed will be tried as an adult, a judge could impose a juvenile court punishment if he is convicted, such as sending him to a correctional center operated by the state's Department of Juvenile Justice.
"The fact that he's being tried as an adult does not preclude the Circuit Court from entertaining practically every disposition that is available for either a juvenile or an adult," Caldwell said.
Appearing in court wearing the same red T-shirt and black shorts that he was arrested in, Reed was informed of the charges against him and told that a preliminary hearing would be held Aug. 12.
He shrugged his shoulders when asked if he could afford to hire an attorney, so substitute Judge John Molumphy appointed the public defender's office to represent him.
Reed, who wore a bandage on his left forearm, told police he acted in self-defense after being cut during a fight with Dent. But Roanoke police said in a news release that detectives "were not convinced of the self-defense explanation" and sought a murder charge against Reed.
Police said Dent, 20, was stabbed once in the chest. He died at short time later at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Authorities have not elaborated on a motive, but they said the dispute did not appear to be drug-related.
Reed, who is from Detroit and had been living with a relative in the Hurt Park housing project, also was arraigned Monday on a charge of trespassing.
He apparently had not been arrested on that charge, which was that had been issued in February.
Dent is the seventh homicide victim in Roanoke this year. Reed is the first juvenile to be charged with murder in the city since March 1993.
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