Greenwood teen accused in October shooting will remain in adult court, judge rules
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A Greenwood teenager charged in connection to the Oct. 31 shooting death of another teen will remain in adult court after an argument to have his case transferred to juvenile court was denied Friday.
Johnson County Superior Court Judge Peter D. Nugent in his decision said it is “in the best interests and safety of the community” that 16-year-old Marcus Anthony Salatin remains in adult court. Salatin was accused of shooting and killing Kashius Davis, 15, of Bargersville, in the Foxberry Trace subdivision of Greenwood about six months ago.
Salatin was initially charged with murder and criminal recklessness in the shooting, but the murder charge was dropped under a plea agreement “based upon newly discovered evidence” on social media and “issues which arose” with two witnesses who were in the car with Davis at the time of the shooting, according to the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office.
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Johnson County teenagers planned to meet for a fistfight. One is now charged with murder.
He pleaded guilty last month to criminal recklessness and carrying a handgun without a license.
Salatin’s lawyers on Friday argued that the juvenile system is the “best place for a 16 year old who is young, and immature …” according to Nugent’s order. The defense said there are “numerous services” available to Salatin in the juvenile system and added he could remain there until his 21st birthday.
But prosecutors said Salatin would not be amenable to those services and cited confidential evidence and “the Court’s previous experience with Defendant Salatin’s actions while this case has been pending” as reasons to keep the case in adult court, the order indicates. It was not immediately clear what previous experience the prosecutors were referencing.
“The Court FINDS that there are appropriate services available to Defendant Salatin in the juvenile system,” Nugent wrote in the order. “However, the Court FINDS that Defendant Salatin is not amenable to the services provided by the juvenile system, and that it is in the best interests and safety of the community that he remain in Adult Court.”
Carrie Miles, one of Salatin’s attorneys, emphasized that the newly discovered evidence supported Salatin’s claims of self-defense. She told IndyStar the criminal recklessness charge the teen pleaded guilty to was in regard to discharging a firearm in a neighborhood, not shooting into the car Davis was in.
“At the end of the day, this is a worst case scenario for Marcus,” Miles said of the ruling Friday, adding that “the only thing” Salatin admitted to was the reckless possession of a handgun.
The prosecutor’s office last month came to the plea agreement with Salatin after the state’s two eyewitnesses, who were in the car with Davis at the time of the shooting, withheld information and “repeatedly lied” during their depositions, the office said.
Kashius Davis death: Family, friends call for justice after accused teen takes plea deal
An inspection of the witnesses’ phones revealed “photos of multiple different firearms” on their Snapchat accounts, and one of the witnesses had made posts to “buy and sell various types of firearms.”
“The manner in which firearms were displayed in these images became highly relevant as they were directly related to the claim of self-defense which had been put forth,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement at the time. “This newly acquired evidence also confirmed that prior statements given under oath from both eyewitnesses were untruthful.”
Family and friends of Davis have expressed their displeasure with the plea agreement, arguing they will not get proper justice for the boy.
Nearly two dozen people gathered last week near the Johnson County Courthouse to demonstrate against the deal.
The prosecutor “didn’t do his job,” Echo Poole Davis, mother of Kashius Davis, said at the time. “He needs to be voted out. He didn’t do his job.”
Salatin’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 14.
Contact Lawrence Andrea at 317-775-4313 or landrea@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @lawrencegandrea.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Greenwood teen accused in October shooting will remain in adult court, judge rules