SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A 15-year-old boy who allegedly stabbed a classmate in a South Bend high school’s restroom will remain in custody as he awaits trial, a judge has ruled.
The boy’s attorney and mother had asked a St. Joseph probate court magistrate to place him under house arrest at a hearing Monday, citing the teen’s good behavior at a juvenile detention center and his lack of a criminal record.
County prosecutors disagreed and the magistrate concurred, finding that the severity of the acts the boy allegedly committed during the Jan. 11 stabbing at Adams High School — armed robbery, battery and having a knife on school grounds — outweigh any mitigating factors, the South Bend Tribune reported.
The boy was formally charged on Jan. 18, with officials saying he stole THC vape cartridges and money from his classmate at knifepoint before stabbing him in the left side of his back.
The 16-year-old victim is out of the hospital, but is still bruised and scared to go back to school, said his uncle, who attended Monday’s hearing. The man said he was in favor of the suspect remaining in custody while awaiting trial.
Proceedings against the suspect are moving along in probate, or juvenile, court as prosecutors have said they will not try to waive him to adult, court.
The boy pleaded not guilty at his initial hearing and is currently set for a trial in late February.
