Oxford High School Shooting Suspect Ethan Crumbley To Stay In Adult Jail
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) — On Monday, Dec. 13, a judge declined the request to move Ethan Crumbley, the 15-year-old charged with killing four students and injuring others in a shooting at Oxford High School, out of an adult jail.
Accused Oxford High School gunman Ethan Crumbley in court via video for a probable cause conference in front of Judge Nancy Carniak in 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills, Michigan on Dec. 13, 2021. - Crumbley, 15, has been charged with 24 counts stemming from the Oxford High School shooting on Nov. 30, including four counts of first-degree murder and terrorism causing death, and is currently housed in the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac, Michigan. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
During his probable cause conference, Crumbley's attorney, Paulette Loftin, argued that he should be moved back to a juvenile facility, saying "he should not be considered a menace to other juveniles."
"This is someone who has never been in trouble before," Loftin said. "This is not someone who has a history of assaulting kids his age or any other negative contact with his peers. This one isolated incident is all that we're looking at here today."
But District Judge Nancy Carniak sided with Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Marc Keast, who countered that the nature of the charges and security risks mandate that Crumbley be held in an adult facility. Crumbley is charged as an adult with killing four classmates and injuring seven other people in the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Detroit.
Accused Oxford High School gunman Ethan Crumbley in court via video for a probable cause conference in front of Judge Nancy Carniak in 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills, Michigan on Dec. 13, 2021. - Crumbley, 15, has been charged with 24 counts stemming from the Oxford High School shooting on Nov. 30, including four counts of first-degree murder and terrorism causing death, and is currently housed in the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac, Michigan. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
"This cannot be compared to any other case that this court or any other court in this county has seen before, and calling this an isolated incident quite frankly does not do it justice," Keast said. "This was a mass murder at a school, judge. This was planned. It was pre-meditated. The defendant didn't just attack other individuals; he targeted juveniles."
Keast said he would contact the jail after Monday's hearing and "make sure that the defendant is neither within sight nor sound of any adult at the jail."
Carniak adjourned the probable cause hearing to Jan. 7 to review witness statements and other evidence from prosecutors and investigators. At that time, she could decide whether to order a competency exam if his attorneys request such an exam.
Accused Oxford High School gunman Ethan Crumbley in court via video for a probable cause conference in front of Judge Nancy Carniak in 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills, Michigan on Dec. 13, 2021. - Crumbley, 15, has been charged with 24 counts stemming from the Oxford High School shooting on Nov. 30, including four counts of first-degree murder and terrorism causing death, and is currently housed in the Oakland County Jail in Pontiac, Michigan. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Monday's conference was a procedural hearing to prepare for a Dec. 20 preliminary hearing, which also will be moved to a later date.
Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, also being held at the jail, are accused of failing to intervene on the day of the tragedy and are charged with involuntary manslaughter. They face hearings Tuesday.
The morning of the shooting, school officials met with Ethan Crumbley and his parents at the school after a teacher found a drawing of a gun, a bullet, and a person who appeared to have been shot, along with messages stating, "My life is useless" and "The world is dead."
The school district's superintendent has said the Crumbleys "flatly refused" to take their son home.
The gun used in the shooting also was bought days before by James Crumbley, and their son had full access to it, prosecutors said.
© 2021 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
