Two Youths Arrested in Shooting Death of Georgia Baby: Mother of Baby: My Son Was ' Innocent, Helpless ' (673 hits)
Brunswick, Georgia (CNN) -- Two teenagers were arrested Friday in the shooting death of a 13-month-old boy who was in his stroller, according to police in this coastal city. The suspects are a 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy, Police Chief Tobe Green told reporters Friday. He said they are being held on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Green identified the older suspect as De'Marquis Elkins, saying he will be treated as an adult in criminal proceedings. The 14-year-old was not identified because of his age. "We are turning every stone to get a motive," said Green. A weapon, believed to be a handgun, has not been found, but police expressed confidence they would find it.
Police said they acted on a suspect description given by the baby's mother, Sherry West, who said she was with her son when the incident occurred. Officers checked school attendance records to determine who was not in classes Thursday, police spokesman Todd Rhodes said. No other suspects are being sought, he said.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia teenager shot a 13-month-old baby in the face while trying to rob the child’s mother, according to an indictment returned Wednesday that also charged the suspect with shooting another person in an unrelated robbery attempt earlier this month. The indictment by a Glynn County grand jury charges 17-year-old De’Marquise Elkins on 11 counts, including malice murder, in the slaying last Thursday of young Antonio Santiago a few blocks from his home in coastal Brunswick.
Another suspect, 15-year-old Dominique Lang, was indicted on seven counts including felony murder. But the indictment specifies that authorities believe it was Elkins who shot the child and wounded his mother with a .22-caliber revolver as the boys tried to steal money from her. District Attorney Jackie Johnson of the Brunswick Judicial Circuit said in a statement Thursday she would not seek the death penalty against either suspect because Georgia law doesn’t allow capital punishment for defendants charged with crimes committed before they were 18. Both teens are charged as adults.
Elkins is now also charged with a second attempted robbery and shooting that happened 10 days before the baby was slain. On March 11, according to the indictment, Elkins tried to rob a person identified as Wilfredo Calix-Flores, pointing a gun at him while demanding his cellphone and wallet. Elkins shot Calix-Flores in the arm with the same caliber revolver used to kill the baby 10 days later, the indictment says. He is charged with attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.
