Teen’s case stays in juvenile court

A Richland County family court judge decided Wednesday that a 15-year-old accused in a June beating of another teen in Five Points will remain in juvenile court rather than be tried as an adult.

Family Court Judge Robert Armstrong said the case caused fear and anger among the public, including himself. But he said he was obligated by law to consider eight factors in deciding whether to move a juvenile case to adult court. The teen’s chances of being rehabilitated into a responsible adult are greater if the case is handled by the juvenile justice system, the judge said.

“When we fear, that fear turns to anger, and we want the people involved to be punished, to answer for the crimes. We want justice,” Armstrong said. “But to do that, to find justice, we must look to and be guided by the law. If we are guided by fear and our anger, there can be no justice.”

The boy awaits a juvenile court hearing to determine whether he is guilty of assault and battery by a mob, robbery and conspiracy. If found guilty, he faces a maximum of 36 months in S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice custody.

The 15-year-old is one of eight teens charged in the June 20 attack of Carter Strange, a recent Dreher High School graduate who was jogging through Five Points around midnight to meet his parents’ curfew. The beating tore an artery, causing a blood clot to form between Strange’s brain and skull, Linwood Smith, Strange’s neurosurgeon, told the judge.

The 15-year-old is one of two who prosecutors wanted to stand trial in adult court. A hearing is scheduled in March to determine whether the other boy, then 14, will be tried as an adult.

Two – Tyheem J. Henrey, now 20, and Yahquann J. Gantt, now 17 – are awaiting trial in general sessions court. Police say Henrey, Gantt, the 15-year-old and the 14-year-old chased after Strange and participated in the beating.

The four others waited by their cars, and they already have been punished in the juvenile justice system for failing to report the crime.

Testimony Wednesday came from two officers at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center’s juvenile wing who described the 15-year-old as a model inmate, who helped others learn to read and write, led prayers during Bible study and volunteered to clean offices and fold laundry.

A psychiatrist testified the boy has a good chance to be rehabilitated because he has a higher-than-average IQ, is not mentally ill, does not have a history of substance abuse and has a supportive family. She also noted that he does not have a prior juvenile record.

The boy’s mother told the judge her son had never caused problems at home. She said he helped with chores, including babysitting three younger siblings and feeding the family dog.

The boy had moved to Columbia from Long Island, N.Y., three days before the attack to live with his mother’s cousin. The mother agreed to let her son move back to South Carolina to play football, she said.

The judge scolded the boy for risking his future by allegedly participating in the beating.

“It makes me mad that you were willing to risk everything for what you did that night,” Armstrong said. “You stepped out of character. You were not strong enough to run away from the people who did this crime.”

Several members of Strange’s family cried after the judge announced his decision, then quickly left the courtroom.