Judge refuses to close courtroom hearings for teens accused of shooting Deserae Turner

Credit: Serggn/iStockphoto.com.

LOGAN — A juvenile court judge has refused to close the criminal hearings for two teenage boys, accused of shooting Deserae Turner. The ruling came the same day as the victim’s family said the 14-year-old girl is making progress.

Judge Angela Fonnesbeck said she was protecting the needs and interests of the public, in ruling to keep the proceedings open to the press and spectators. She prohibited the use of any video, photography or audio recording equipment, and warned that anyone who disrupts the hearings would be dismissed from the courtroom.

Judge Fonnesbeck’s ruling came Tuesday morning as attorneys for the two defendants argued to have the hearings closed.

Defense attorney Shannon Demler, who represents one of the defendants, said the case involves very sensitive material about three minors, and it shouldn’t become the material of gossip sessions around the community.

Defense attorney David Perry, who represents the other defendant, said the community is close-knit. He argued that the details of the case could be damaging to the victim’s and defendant’s families.

The two teenage boys are charged with shooting Turner in the back of the head and leaving the 14-year-old girl in a ditch after robbing her. Prosecutors allege they set up a meeting by promising to sell her a knife and originally planned to stab her with knives of their own. After they arrived, one boy decided instead to use a gun he had brought and shot the girl. They took $55 from her purse, tossed her backpack in a trash bin and destroyed her cellphone and iPod.

Two preliminary examination hearings are expected to be held March 21-22 and 23-24, where prosecutors will present their evidence in the case for each defendant and argue for the teens to be tried as adults.

In a press release Tuesday afternoon, Turner’s family said Deserae has been moved to the Neuro Trauma Unit at Primary Children’s Hospital. Her next steps include another surgery and extensive rehabilitation. “Our sweet girl has been through so much as she battled for her life and this will be a battle she fights for a long time if not for the rest of her life,” said the statement.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Fonnesbeck ordered both defendants to remain in the Juvenile Detention Center and undergo separate psychological evaluations. She scheduled another detention hearing for March 14, in preparation for the preliminary hearings.

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