Will teen accused of murdering 15-year-old be tried as adult? Defense argues no

CEDAR RAPIDS - Facing the unusual situation of detaining a young teen accused of killing another young teen, Linn County judicial officials now have to decide what to do with him.

Robert Humbles, 14, is being held on a first-degree murder charge in the Sept. 6 shooting of Aaron Richardson, 15.

Humbles is being held with about a dozen other minors in juvenile detention - and is expected to stay there for weeks.

A hearing to determine if he's tried as an adult has been rescheduled to Nov. 20 in Linn County Juvenile Court.

If eventually tried as an adult and convicted, he faces life in prison but with a chance of parole, based on a law that bans mandatory life terms for juveniles.

The Linn County Attorney's Office filed a court petition last week asking that the case be waived into adult court.

Humbles' public defenders, however, filed a motion of resistance as they try to keep him in juvenile court - or if the case is waived into adult court, that he be tried as a youthful offender.

That status would allow him to be sent to a juvenile detention center, such as the Eldora State Training School for Boys, until he turns 18. Then the court would decide whether to release him or sentence him in adult court to serve out his sentence.

Rachel Antonuccio, a Johnson County assistant public defender, said this week she has concerns about waiving juveniles into adult court.

She recently defended another youth charged with first-degree murder.

Sixteen-year-old Daimonay Richardson was convicted in 2014 for her role in killing Ronald Kunkle, 22, who was stabbed 39 times in his home on May 18, 2013. Daimonay Richardson admitted she and former boyfriend D. Anthony Curd, 20, armed themselves with steak knives and planned to rob and kill Kunkle.

Antonuccio said the teen did well in the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center because she had access to education, social interaction and medical care - she was pregnant at the time.

But that changed, the lawyer said, when she was waived into adult court was sent to Jones County pending trial.

'I've seen the other side now … of how juveniles are treated once they're waived into adult court,” Antonuccio said.

Richardson testified during a hearing last year after she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder that she was isolated and alone in Jones County because the jail is required to house juveniles out of 'sight and sound” from adult inmates. And the jail couldn't provide schooling. She made A's and B's in juvenile detention.

Antonuccio attempted to get Richardson transferred to another juvenile facility but the judge denied it. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison, without a mandatory minimum before being eligible for parole.

Dawn Schott, Linn County Juvenile Detention Center's director, said it's uncommon for the county to have someone under 16 charged with a serious crime.

The center will continue to house youths waived into adult court, except those charged with first-degree murder.

The Linn County Jail doesn't have room to separate juveniles from adults. So minors are sent to another county.

For now, Humbles is in the juvenile center and remains in the general population, Schott said. None of the minors are isolated based on their charges. She couldn't provide details about how Humbles is behaving there.

Some juvenile services officials around the state who were interviewed by The Gazette in 2014 said holding minors in jails wasn't the best option, especially if there are juvenile detention centers with room. There also are some studies asserting that isolating these youth is detrimental to their rehabilitation.

Based on those interviews last year, the other nine juvenile detention centers in the state don't have a policy on whether to hold minors based on how they are charged. Most base it on space or a behavioral issue.

Schott said the juveniles are put into 'pods,” or living areas of seven. They have a common living area but separate bedrooms.

'They attend school on site and they are only in their bedrooms at night,” Schott said. 'The pods are locked and the bedrooms are locked at night. There are also cameras to monitor. We really don't have many behavior problems.”

The center had 11 juveniles as of Wednesday but averaged about 17 in fiscal 2015, Schott said.

Cedar Rapids police haven't released many details of the fatal shooting. Aaron Richardson was shot while in the 1600 block of Park Avenue, then ran to a house in the 300 block of 16th Street SE for help. He later died after surgery.

Humbles was brought to police headquarters last week by a family member, then arrested,