District Associate Judge Colin Witt filed papers this morning ordering that Terrance Cheeks Jr., 16, and Leshaun Murray, 15, both appear for May 28 hearings in adult court.
The two are accused of accosting multiple Des Moinesdrivers on Feb. 26 in an attempt to steal a car. The last one was Mike Wasike, a Kenyan immigrant who was beaten after surrendered his car and later was found lying on a snow-covered street with a fractured skull.
Wasike remains hospitalized with severe brain damage, unable to walk, talk or see.
Witt's orders reason that both juveniles would reap little benefit from juvenile courtin the time remaining before their 18th birthdays. Both had extensive behavioral trouble before the February attack.
"The court leans heavily on the ghastly circumstances associated with the underlying delinquent acts as the primary factor in its decision," the judge writes in Cheeks' case. "The court does not find it to be a particularly close question as to whether this case should simply stay in juvenile court. It should not."
- Des Moines Register
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