Teen Taken Into Custody in Salt Lake City Shooting Case
Teenager accused of killing a man in Salt Lake City last month was sent to juvenile jail on Friday after the parents of the victim begged the court to keep him there.
Judge Annettee Jan of the Third District Juvenile Court ruled that the 15-year-old boy, who ABC4 is not naming because of his age, will stay at the Salt Lake County Juvenile Detention Center until he is reviewed every week. It’s still not clear if the officials will try to move his case to a different court and charge him as an adult.
Jan made her decision based on the “serious nature” of the charges against the teenager. He has been in jail since he was arrested in the hours after the Oct. 13 shooting that killed Rory Swimm, 23.
A police report says that someone was shot and killed at the corner of 600 East and 200 South in Salt Lake City’s Central City area.
After a fight earlier in the day, the teen was looking for Swimm and his friends with some other teens. One of the teens is said to have shot Swimm and then driven off in a car. Swimm died right there.
In the wake of the killing, another 15-year-old boy was also arrested. He was released from jail on Oct. 20. A representative for Utah State Courts said that the state has no plans to file any charges against the second teen.
Rory Swimm’s mother, Susan Swimm, spoke to the court on Friday and asked the judge to send the youngster back to his detention cell.
“[He] killed my son. [He] needs to pay for the crime of murder, not be released into the loving arms of his mother,” she said.
“[He] killed my son. [He] needs to pay for the crime of murder, not be released into the loving arms of his mother,” she said.https://t.co/fh0tjbqgHA
— ABC4 News (@abc4utah) November 18, 2023
The teen’s lawyer said that he should be dropped off at his parents’ house until the preliminary hearing so that he could be with his family and go to school.
Attorney said that the teen could wear a GPS ankle watch and be put on curfew. On the other hand, prosecutor Adrianna Davis said the teen is a “clear danger to the community” and should stay in jail until the case is over.
The probation officer agreed with her, saying that the teen posed an inherent risk. When the court decided to keep the teen in jail, his parents were clearly upset and would sometimes speak during the meeting.
The teenager was sometimes seen crying with his head bowed. The teen’s next court appearance, a pretrial hearing, was scheduled for January 26.
