CONWAY, Ark. (AP) - Defense attorneys for an Arkansas teen charged in the shooting death of the couple who raised him as their grandson said Wednesday that they plan to ask for the case to be moved to juvenile court.
During a pre-trial hearing for now 15-year-old Justin Staton in Faulkner County Circuit Court, his attorneys said depending on what they receive from several discovery requests, they plan to file the motion to move Staton’s case to juvenile court.
Prosecutors charged Staton, as an adult with capital murder in the shooting deaths of Robert and Patricia Cogdell last July. Staton was 14 at the time of the killings.
Police say Staton and 18-year-old Hunter Drexler robbed and shot the couple then dragged their bodies to a wooded area behind their Conway home, where Staton also lived. Drexler was 17 at the time of the killings and was also charged as an adult.
Both teens pleaded not guilty to two charges each of capital murder, aggravated robbery, theft of property by threat and abuse of a corpse. Drexler is scheduled to go to trial on the charges in April.
Circuit Court Judge Troy Braswell said Wednesday he would not yet postpone Staton’s trial set for May 16. A pre-trial hearing was set for March 22 to discuss whether a continuance would be necessary.
Two other teens, Anastasia Roberts and Connor Atchley, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and theft by receiving in connection to the shooting deaths.
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