SIDNEY — A change of plea was accepted from the juvenile accused of stabbing another juvenile to death in April. The pleas was accepted by Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge Jeffrey Beigel Friday afternoon. The results of the Amenability Hearing was also shared by Beigel during the hearing.
The juvenile, who will not be identified in the news stories, was indicted by the Shelby County grand jury on Thursday,
In juvenile court, the teen had faced a complaint of being a delinquent juvenile who would have faced a murder charge if had been committed by an adult. The Shelby County Prosecutor’s Office had requested the case to be moved to Shelby County Common Pleas court at a previous hearing.
The grand jury indicted the teen on a charge of murder with a specification of the juvenile being treated as a serious youthful offender.
With the plea deal, the prosecutor’s office withdrew its request to try the teen as an adult.
Beigel explained the teen faces incarceration in juvenile detention until he is 21 and can be fined $2,000.
On the adult charges, the teen, said Beigel, faces a sentence of 15 years to life, up to a $15,000 fine, restitution and court costs. The teen will be under the authority of adult probation.
Since the case is being handled in juvenile court, the sentencing for that court will have the priority for the length of incarceration. The adult sentence will only come into play if the juvenile gets n trouble after his juvenile sentence is completed.
Beigel said there will be rules and regulations the teen must abide by once the juvenile sentence is complete.
If the teen doesn’t get into any more trouble, the adult sentence will not be imposed, said Beigel.
The teen will be sentenced Monday on both the juvenile and adult charges in juvenile court.
Beigel, upon the recommendation of the prosecutor’s office, set bail at $500,000 cash. Beigel agreed that the teen could be a flight risk.
A no contact order was also ordered by the judge in case the teen is able to post bond. The no contact order means the teen cannot have contact with the Vitim’s family.
According to the Sidney Police Department, the teen is accused of the stabbing death of Cody Powers, 15, of Sidney, on Thursday, April 30, 2020. The suspect was upset over an alleged text that was sent to his girlfriend, which he termed “disrespectful.” The teen went to the Dingman Street residence, along with three others, to challenge the victim and an acquaintance of the victim to a fight.
Powers sustained a serious knife wound to his stomach area. He was transported to Wilson Health and then transferred to Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, where he passed away.
As a result of the incident the 15-year-old suspect was charged with one count of murder.
During the Amenability Hearing reviewed the results f the hearing. Beigel also went through — step-by-step — all the stipulations for the judge to accept the teens’s change of plea.
The acceptance of the facts of the stipulations was signed by all parties involved in the case.
Some of the facts presented included the fact that the teen took a knife from his residence and went to the Powers house. When he arrived, he stabbed the other teen in the stomach. The teen, along with two other people left the residence. The teen threw the knife out of the vehicle’s window and it was never located.
