Juvenile hearing continued
by Peter Jakey, Managing Editor
Circuit Judge Donald McLennan continued a hearing for a 17-year-old Indian River youth involved in a traffic crash, which took the lives of three family members in January, to September 30.
The defendant?s attorney, Joe Kwiatkowski of Cheboygan, was told by McLennan to bring back evidence that would persuade him that there are better options in juvenile court for the young man compared to the adult court system.
The judge, after hearing 10 of the prosecutor?s witnesses, believed that the state?s burden had been met to waive juvenile court jurisdiction and try the defendant as an adult.
?The prosecutor has met his burden thus far,? said McLennan. ?It is not a gimme. I haven?t filed a determination, but for purposes of where we are at right now, the hearing will continue.?
The subject was 16 when the January 26 accident occurred that took the lives of Deb Stuifbergen, 51, and her two adult children, Nick Stuifbergen, 23, and Leann Shoulders, 27. The three were going out to celebrate Deb?s birthday. Family members and supporters again filled one side of the courtroom seating area.
A six-month investigation led to Presque Isle County prosecutor Rick Steiger filing a petition July 29 containing three counts of homicide/manslaughter with a motor vehicle. He also filed an additional petition to wave the juvenile court jurisdiction and have the young man tried as an adult in general criminal court. The charge is a 15-year felony in criminal court.
MCLENNAN ALREADY ruled there was probable cause in phase one of the proceedings. The second phase is to determine if it is in the best interest of the youth and community to try him as an adult.
Testimony from last Friday?s hearing started in the morning and lasted into the afternoon, starting with his mother, who spent the longest time on the stand. She told the judge her son had been bullied and hazed by members of the Inland Lakes High School football team, which seemed to lead to a decline in grades. He was suspended from school for fighting and possession of marijuana October 8, 2007.
The defendant did not return to the school after the marijuana suspension and was home schooled for the rest of the school year. The teen was given probation by Cheboygan probate court and ordered to serve 25 hours of community service. In the fall, the young man?s mother testified that she enrolled him in Presque Isle Academy. ?We were impressed with what we heard…I felt the school met our needs.? In the meantime, he was being drug tested by the court and his mother. On the young man?s 16th birthday, he was given a king cab Ford 150 pickup truck to drive back and forth to school in Onaway.
The mother also testified, that since the home school credits could not be accepted by PI Academy, he was behind at the beginning of his junior year, but excelled at the school and was asked to give the valedictorian address, an offer she said was declined. ?Given the situation, it would be insensitive,? she said.
DURING AFTERNOON testimony, McLennan heard from Matteau Kreft, 21, of Onaway, who drag raced the defendant in October 2008. Kreft raced a smaller Neon against the defendant?s Ford 150 and posted a video of the race on YouTube. It was the only time the two young men raced. Kreft said lookouts were involved and it was on a straight stretch of roadway.
Bob Garms, 19, of Onaway testified of a driving incident two weeks before the fatalities of January 26. He said the defendant passed him on State
Before McLennan?s decision, Kwiatkowski argued that there wasn?t enough evidence to waive juvenile jurisdiction. ?This is a young man who unfortunately acted in a grossly negligent manner,? said Steiger. ?His actions took the lives of three individuals. This is a young man who drove awful in a short driving history.?
Kwiatkowski said he has witnesses that weigh heavily on the programs available to a juvenile and he will present the evidence at the next hearing. The time for the next hearing is 9 a.m.