Youth court to decide man’s sentence in killing

Tyler Canny, who was 17 when he beat a man to death during a brawl on a South Side street, was placed on probation Thursday in adult court.

But it will be up to a Franklin County Juvenile Court judge to decide whether to adopt that sentence or impose one of her own.

The unusual sentencing procedure is necessary because of a complicated law in Ohio about the transfer of juvenile defendants to adult court.

Canny, now 18, was charged with a delinquency count of murder in the March 2017 death of Homer L. Wright Jr., 53. Six months later, Juvenile Court Judge Terri Jamison transferred his case to adult court after Canny admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to show probable cause, or a reasonable belief, that he committed the crime.

Under Ohio law, a finding of probable cause in a murder case against a juvenile who is at least 16 at the time of the offense results in a mandatory transfer to adult court.

Canny waived his right to a jury, and Common Pleas Judge Guy Reece convicted him in May of the lesser offense of reckless homicide.

Because reckless homicide is not among the delinquency offenses that result in a mandatory transfer to adult court, Reece’s verdict opened the door for the Juvenile Court judge to have a say in the sentence.

Reece placed Canny on probation for three years and said he will impose a threeyear prison sentence if Canny violates probation. He also ordered him to remain on an ankle monitor for the next six months. The sentence is stayed until July 9, when Jamison will conduct a hearing on the case in Juvenile Court.

Canny’s attorneys argued at trial that the youth was acting in self-defense when he struck Homer L. Wright Jr. and his 71-year-old father, Homer L. Wright Sr., during a street brawl in the 1000 block of Rumsey Road. Testimony indicated that Canny was attempting to break up a fight involving several girls when the Wrights intervened.

Reece agreed that the initial punches thrown by Canny weren’t criminal, but ruled that Canny’s actions became an assault after he knocked the younger Wright to the ground and kicked him in the head.