MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — A judge on Monday bound over to adult court a 15-year-old boy accused to trying kill another teen by shooting him at a central Indiana middle school just minutes after posting "today is the day" on his Facebook page.
Michael Phelps, bound by shackles, was led from Morgan Superior Court by sheriff's deputies as members of his family hugged each other and his grim-faced mother left his side and headed for the exits without saying a word.
Phelps was expected to face six felony charges including attempted murder and aggravated battery in the March 25 shooting of 15-year-old Chance Jackson at Martinsville West Middle School, about 30 miles south of Indianapolis.
"The evidence presented would indicate to a reasonable person that is was a cold, calculated and planned act of violence with intent to kill," Morgan Superior Court Judge Christopher Burnham said, reading his 10-page ruling.
Defense attorney Steven Litz had argued that Phelps, who will turn 16 on May 5, should be tried as a juvenile. Litz contended that the teen had a troubled childhood and would emerge from prison far worse than when he entered if convicted as an adult.
"I think what the judge did today was easy," Litz told reporters after the hearing. "It's always easier to show contempt than it is to show concern. It's always easier to do what is politically expedient than compassionately just."
Jackson was shot twice in the stomach just inside the entrance to the school. He is recovering from surgeries to repair injuries to seven organs.
"Obviously this is a very long recovery," said Catherine Michael, a spokeswoman for Jackson's family. "He suffered very severe injuries."
Michael said the family would release a statement on Burnham's ruling later in the week.
It was not immediately clear when Prosecutor Steve Sonnega would file formal charges against Phelps or a bail hearing would be held.
Under Indiana trial rules, Litz cannot appeal Burnham's ruling until after Phelps is tried.
Litz said the defense never disputed there was probable cause for each of the six felonies his client is accused of and that the shooting was a "heinous act," but he said testimony during a hearing lasting 1½ days showed Phelps could be successfully rehabilitated in the juvenile justice system.
"Michal has been thrust into an adult criminal system. He's already been failed by adults before," Litz said.
Burnham, in his order, said Phelps was "raised in a destructive, substance-abuse-ridden, chaotic home with no significant and responsible parent in his life."
The judge noted that Phelps' mother, Karen Quickery, could not be located after he was picked up in the early morning hours of last New Year's Eve wandering the streets of Martinsville with others and possessing a pipe for smoking marijuana. A notice for her to appeal at an expulsion hearing at the school, was sent via certified mail but was returned unclaimed.
Quickery 57, of Martinsville, testified tearfully last week that her drinking had fueled much of her son's anger and that she may have been too lenient with him.
"Maybe I wasn't strong enough to stay with the discipline," Quickery said then.
Burnham said he had little choice but to waive Phelps over to be tried as an adult. He said "there is no stability of structure in the home," and the allegations against Phelps disqualify him from most if not all non-secure juvenile homes. The judge said Phelps could go to a secure facility for no more than 90 days, and placing him with the Indiana Department of Correction would not guarantee the boy's rehabilitation or the safety of the community.
"Michael Phelps was headed for tragedy, either of his own making or inflicted upon someone else," Burnham said.