THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 14, 1995 TAG: 9501140187
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
The juvenile convicted of malicious wounding in the stabbing of a Churchland High School classmate on a school bus was sentenced Friday to an indefinite term in the custody of juvenile authorities.
The 16-year-old, whose name is not being published because his case was handled in juvenile court, has been held in Tidewater Detention Home since shortly after the attack.
His brother, Shaun Woodhouse, 17, is scheduled for trial in Circuit Court March 13 for his role in the stabbing in November that left Terrance Taylor with a punctured lung. He will be tried as an adult.
On Friday, Juvenile Judge Robert F. Babb committed the 16-year-old to the Department of Youth and Family Services for an indefinite term.
In pronouncing sentence, Babb cited the youth's court record, his continued passion for marijuana and alcohol after attending a substance abuse workshop, and the seriousness of the offense.
The youth had been charged with possession of a concealed weapon in 1993 and ordered to undergo treatment. He also had admitted that he smoked marijuana four times a week with his brother and friends.
``Unfortunately, the substance abuse workshop didn't work,'' the judge said. ``I don't see that I can do anything but commit him to the Department of Youth and Family Services and be hopeful that he takes this as a learning experience.''
Also on Friday, prosecutors agreed not to pursue a charge of marijuana possession.
The youth's attorney, James E. Short, said his client would probably be confined for about six months by juvenile authorities.
He had argued that the youth should be given a suspended commitment, telling the judge that the boy's mother had died last year and that his father plans to move the family from the area.
On the morning of the attack, Taylor boarded the school bus in the 6200 block of Dunkirk Street about 7 a.m. and was making his way down the aisle when the younger brother punched him in the face and wrestled him into a headlock, Taylor has testified. He said Shaun Woodhouse stabbed him.
Taylor said he had exchanged no words with the brothers the day he was stabbed but he had witnessed two earlier incidents involving the brothers.
He was present several weeks earlier when friends robbed Shaun Woodhouse and he was there a few days before the stabbing when friends beat up the younger brother, he said.
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT STABBING JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM by CNB