Teens could be charged as adults in assault on Washington students

Prosecutors will decide this week if two boys charged in a severe assault on three other boys after the first day of school should be charged as adults.

Keenan Baker, 16, and Tyress Martin, 15, both of Cedar Rapids, are each charged with willful injury, a class D felony,  in connection with the assault, which left one boy with a broken jaw and another without some of his teeth. Baker faces two additional charges of assault causing bodily injury.

Linn County Attorney Jerry Vander Sanden said both boys are currently charged in juvenile court, but either case could be moved to adult court. He said police have been asked to obtain medical records and additional victim statements to make the determination.

“Our goal is to charge the most serious offense supported by the evidence,” Vander Sanden said.

For the cases to be moved to adult court, prosecutors must establish that there was intent to inflict serious injury and that a serious injury occurred, which would enhance the willful injury charge to a class C felony. If the charge is enhanced, Baker's case would be automatically moved to adult court, because he is 16 years old, however his lawyer could ask for a reversal.

Prosecutors also could argue for Martin to be charged as an adult, but at age 15, a judge will ultimately decide whether his case will be in adult or juvenile court. Vander Sanden said the judge would consider the nature of the offense, the defendant's prior history and several other factors.

“The threshold for serious injury is fairly high,” Vander Sanden said. “What might seem like a serious injury to most people might not be (legally classified as a serious injury).”

According to witnesses and police, four boys were walking home from Washington High School around 1 p.m. on Aug. 21 when they were attacked by two other boys in front of 368 20th St. SE. According to one boy's mother, one of the assailants yelled “Get off my block,” before her son was punched from behind.

Christian Meek, 15, spent two nights in a hospital for a broken jaw and a severed nerve, his mother said. Another 15-year-old boy had his two front teeth knocked out, but doctors were able to replace them.

Police Capt. Steve O'Konek said the attack was unprovoked, but said at least some members of the two groups knew each other from their days at McKinley Middle School.

“They knew each other beforehand, to the extent that they had close relationships,” said O'Konek, who declined to elaborate.

Rumors swirled among parents after news broke about the incident on Wednesday, as police released few details. Witnesses said the assailants were black and the victims were white, but police said Monday it does not appear race was a factor in the incident.

“We don't have any reason to believe that this was a hate crime, and we don't have any reason to believe that this was a gang initiation,” O'Konek said. “The two suspects made a very bad choice in assaulting these kids for what appears to be no apparent reason.”

O'Konek said both boys who were arrested and their parents have cooperated with police during the investigation. No more arrests were expected, he said. Two other boys were present with Baker and Martin, but did not participate in the assault, police said.

Investigators acknowledged comments made on social media websites, including Twitter, referring to the assault, O'Konek said. While claims of responsibility and images of bloodied knuckles were being exchanged via social media, O'Konek said investigators found enough evidence to make the arrests based on interviews with victims, witnesses and suspects instead of social media comments.

“That's a challenge for law enforcement as it relates to social media,” O'Konek said. “Those records are able to be subpoena'd, and we can get them, but that doesn't prove that that person actually thumbed that message onto that keyboard and hit the send button.”