CANTON ‒ A 14-year-old has pleaded not true, the equivalent of “not guilty,” to juvenile offenses of reckless homicide, involuntary manslaughter and other charges in connection with the shooting death of a 15-year-old girl in Alliance.
The suspect entered the pleas during a June 22 arraignment in Stark County Family Court.
Magistrate Vernon M. Infantino sent the youth back to custody of the Multi-County Juvenile Attention System. He was placed with the system following his arrest in connection with the June 19 shooting that killed Kennedy Wise in her home in the 600 block of West Summit Street.
In a court entry about the results of the youth’s arraignment, Infantino wrote that the teen is a threat to himself, a danger to the community and lacks adequate parental supervision.
The next scheduled court date in the case is a pretrial conference on June 30.
The Stark County Prosecutor’s Office will ask for the case to be sent to the General Division of Stark County Common Pleas Court, where he would be tried as an adult.
The other charges against the suspect are tampering with evidence, obstructing official business, negligent assault, falsification and discharging firearms within the city. Attached to the charges are four specifications that a gun was used in the crime.
Involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and evidence tampering are felonies. The other charges are misdemeanors.
The alleged shooter has been ordered to have no contact with the victim’s family.
His mother is charged with tampering evidence, accused of moving the gun her son allegedly used to shoot and kill Wise. She also called 911 dispatchers and told them the girl died by suicide.
The mother was arraigned June 22 in Alliance Municipal Court on the felony charge.
She remains in jail on a $25,000 cash or surety bond with pretrial release conditions. She is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing June 26.
Alliance police Capt. James Hilles said the 47-year-old woman could face additional charges because the gun was not secured.
He also said the mother allegedly staged the suicide scene after her son left the girl’s home with the gun. Both returned to the girl’s house, put the weapon near her body, called 911 and reported the death, according to police. The boy later told police he shot and killed Wise, Hilles said.
Staff writer Benjamin Duer contributed to this report.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Boy, 14, pleads ‘not true’ to charges after fatal Alliance shooting
Reporting by Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository / The Repository
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository | USA TODAY Network
