ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (WWJ) – Alleged Oxford High School shooter Ethan Crumbley will remain in the Oakland County Jail after a judge denied his defense team’s request for him to be placed in a juvenile facility.
As Crumbley appeared in 52-3 District Court in Rochester Hills Monday, Judge Nancy Carniak stood by her previous ruling that Crumbley should remain in jail, as “his conduct could be a menace to other juveniles.”
His lawyer, Paulette Loftin, argued Crumbley should not be considered a menace and said he “is someone who has never been in trouble before.”
"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,” Loftin said.
While Crumbley is facing a slew of charges for allegedly killing four classmates and injuring seven other people in the Nov. 30 shooting, his parents – James and Jennifer Crumbley – are also being held in the Oakland County Jail on involuntary manslaughter charges.
Deborah McKelvy has been appointed the guardian for Crumbley. McKelvy told a judge she’s concerned about his being housed next to adults.
“I’m not sure that he is fully away from the sounds of the adult inmates.”
McKelvy said Crumbley is a child and should be allowed to do some school. Carniak, however, turned down the request to move him, siding with prosecutor Marc Keast, who said the nature of charges against Crumbley and security risks mandate he be held in an adult facility.
“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 premeditated. The defendant didn’t just attack other individuals, he targeted juveniles.”
Carniak adjourned Monday's probable cause hearing until Jan. 7 due to the large amount of evidence attorneys must sift through in the case.
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