Suspect in killing faces prosecution as adult

A man who was 17 when he was accused of fatally shooting an 18-year-old Reynoldsburg High School student will be prosecuted as an adult, a Franklin County Juvenile Court judge ruled Wednesday.

Damon Taylor, now 19, was arrested in December on a delinquency charge of murder in the April 15, 2016, death of Enrigue Straughter.

In April, Judge Dana S. Preisse listened to testimony and found probable cause, or a reasonable belief, that Taylor was involved in the slaying. A hearing was set for Wednesday to determine whether Taylor was suitable for treatment in the juvenile system, but Preisse ruled that a recent Ohio Supreme Court decision made that review unnecessary.

The Supreme Court in May upheld a previous law that made it mandatory to transfer juveniles accused of certain serious crimes, including murder, to adult court if they were at least 16 at the time of the crime and a judge finds probable cause that they committed the crime.

The Supreme Court had ruled in December that the mandatory transfers were unconstitutional, but reversed itself in the latest decision.

Straughter was shot multiple times just after midnight outside his home in the 2100 block of Lavenham Road in Reynoldsburg.

Assistant Prosecutor Richard Schanz said investigators built a case against Taylor based on a Snapchat photo that he posted of himself holding a gun just minutes before the shooting as well as evidence found at the scene.

A broken piece of gun rail that matched the weapon in the photo was found near the body, he said, and contained Taylor’s DNA. A car that Taylor had taken without permission from his parents also was found at the scene, and the key fob for the vehicle was near the body, he said.

Preisse set bail at $1 million for Taylor, who is represented by defense attorney Jeremy Dodgion, and ordered him moved to the county jail from the juvenile detention center.