Judge: Teen shooting suspect stays in jail
A 17-year-old boy charged with reckless homicide in the shooting death of a Kettering teen will stay in jail, a judged ruled Thursday.
The suspect is charged in connection with the shooting death of Noah Channell inside a Parran Drive house in Kettering in mid-December, just days before Channell’s 18th birthday.
It appears the suspect was careless with a loaded gun when it fired, police said, but the incident remains under investigation.
At a hearing Thursday, the 17-year-old suspect’s lawyer requested his client be released, which Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Anthony Capizzi denied.
Capizzi questioned why the teenage suspect would need to have a loaded handgun unless he was doing something wrong and needed protection. The suspect’s lawyer replied the teen had a handgun, because handguns are glorified as part of rap culture, noting that his client is black.
Capizzi said he was offended by the remarks. A probable cause hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 21.
“We are currently, right now, trying to piece through all the information from whoever may have witnessed it and find out what that true story is,” said Kettering police spokesman Officer Joe Ferrell.
There were a few other people the same age as the gunshot victim inside the home at the time of the shooting, he said.
There is not believed to be an underlying crime related to the shooting, such as a burglary or home invasion, Ferrell said.
Channell, a student at the Ohio Virtual Academy high school, also worked at a local
Penn Station sandwich shop, where he was working to become a manager, according to his obituary. His funeral is today.
Channell is survived by his parents, Matthew and Tracy Channell; sisters Danielle Roush and Jessica Conner; grandparents Richard and Helen Channell, Catherine Lunsford and Dough Snell; and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
Visitation is from 4 to 6 p.m.
Btoday with a funeral service at 6 p.m. at Routsong Funeral Home, 2100 E. Stroop Road, Kettering.
A GoFundMe online fundraiser also has been set up to help cover the family’s funeral expenses.