Prosecutors in Frederick County, Maryland, want to charge two teenage brothers as adults in the fatal attack of a man in September, at the Great Frederick Fair.
Monday morning, the 15- and 16-year-old brothers appeared separately in brief hearings before Frederick County Circuit Court Judge Julie Stevenson Solt.
Both had been arrested in the death of 59-year-old John Weed, of Mount Airy — allegedly after Weed refused to give one of the teens a dollar.
Prosecutor Laura Wilt told the judge she had filed motions that would allow for the teens to be tried in Circuit Court, as adults.
Wilt said prosecutors have charged the 15-year-old with manslaughter, first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault. Wilt said the boy threw the fatal punch that killed Weed.
The 16-year-old was charged with two counts of second-degree assault. Wilt said he had thrown a punch at Weed and spat upon him after his brother had knocked Weed unconscious.
The attorney for the younger brother asked he be released before trial with electronic monitoring, since he had no prior criminal record.
Solt ordered both brothers be held in a juvenile facility until a Nov. 19 hearing, in which she will consider the waiver petition to move the cases to adult court.
More than a dozen family members and friends of the teens sat in the courtroom during the hearing and joined hands to pray outside the courthouse. The defendants’ parents have said their sons had made a serious mistake, but didn’t deserve jail time.
Earlier, State’s Attorney Charlie Smith had said there was no indication of intent to kill Weed and no immediate indication the crime was motivated by hate.
