The 16-year-old male juvenile charged with the homicide of Gay Mee Paw appeared in court Wednesday, when the transfer hearing to determine whether the case will be tried in adult court was pushed back more than 2 months.
The suspect was arrainged on July 12, when a transfer hearing was tentatively scheduled for September 6. However, Daviess County Attorney John Burlew said in a release the transfer hearing has been rescheduled to November 22.
According to Burlew, a hearing was held Wednesday in the Daviess District Court, Juvenile Session, Division II, on a motion for continuance filed by the defense. Burlew said his office filed a motion in opposition to the one submitted by the defense.
“A 30-45 minute hearing ensued (Wednesday) morning. At that time, both sides engaged in heated arguments over the merits of the motions. The Daviess County Attorney’s Office did not agree to the length of time for continuance the defense requested – which was 3.5 months,” Burlew said in the release.
Burlew said that due to scheduling conflicts throughout the months of September and October, and even the early part of November, the Court ruled that the transfer hearing would be held at 9 a.m. November 22.
The suspect is still lodged in the Warren County Juvenile Detention Center and will remain there pending the transfer hearing, according to Burlew.
The 16-year-old male suspect was arrested the evening of the shooting, which took place June 21. In addition to murder, the juvenile has been charged with tampering with physical evidence and possession of a handgun by a minor.
On June 26, the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office announced a second male juvenile — this one 17 years old — had been charged in connection to the homicide of Paw. DCSO said charges included tampering with physical evidence, possession of a handgun by a minor, and unlawfully providing/permitting a minor to possess a handgun.
The second juvenile faced arraignment on July 3. Burlew previously said there are no plans to transfer the second juvenile to adult court. According to Burlew, the second juvenile did not actively use the firearm against another person in any of their offenses, making them ineligible to be tried as an adult.
Because the suspects are juveniles, their identities cannot be released at this time according to state law. If the 16-year-old is transferred to adult court, his identity will be released following his first appearance in adult court.
