Judge Denies Motion to Move Oxford Shooter to Juvenile Facility

Ethan Crumbley is currently being held at the Oakland County Jail. His attorneys requested that he be moved to a juvenile detention center.

The teenager charged with shooting 11 people at Oxford High School, killing four, appeared in court via webcam for a probable cause conference Monday.

Ethan Crumbley is currently being held at the Oakland County Jail. His attorneys have requested that he be moved to a juvenile detention center.

Deborah McKelvy is serving as the Ethan Crumbley’s court appointed guardian. She made the case for the teen to be moved to Children’s Village, Oakland County’s juvenile detention center.

“I just feel that, I’m not being humorous when I say this, but he could still at least be at school,” said McKelvy. “I mean he is still 15 years of age and there are certain things, many things he is not going to get at the jail.”

McKelvy also expressed concern regarding the environment, saying, “I know from what he told me on Friday he hears adults in the cell that’s next door to him.  Pursuant to the statute… he’s not supposed to and I’m of the belief that they are adults… they are not other juveniles.”

Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast said at the hearing that he would contact the jail administrators to make sure that the teen is not able to hear the adult inmates. But he says the teen should not be moved to juvenile detention.

“Children’s Village is not a secure facility they have had this case in the past in the recent past I can’t imagine a situation where we could put this defendant in a school environment after what he did on November the 30th,” said Keast.

District Court Judge Nancy Carniak agreed with the Assistant Prosecutor and denied the motion, saying the teen belongs in jail since he’s being charged as an adult.

Ethan Crumbley is charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism and will be tried as an adult.

Due to the overwhelming amount of evidence left to be gathered and shared with defense counsel, Crumbley’s next hearing will not be until next month.

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  • Russ McNamara
    Russ McNamara is the host of All Things Considered for 101.9 WDET, presenting local news to the station’s loyal listeners. He's been an avid listener of WDET since he moved to metro Detroit in 2002.