Boy, 15, to be tried as adult in fatal shooting
In 20 years of prosecuting juvenile cases in Franklin County, Dennis Hogan said, he had never seen a psychological evaluation quite like the one conducted on Erik L. Thompson Jr.
“I’ve never read a report so scathing,” Hogan said on Monday as he argued that Thompson, 15, should be prosecuted as an adult for a fatal shooting in a Whitehall pool hall.
The evaluation, performed by Columbus psychologist Dan Davis, found that Thompson has a “misanthropic attitude.”
“I had to look it up,” Hogan said. “It’s defined as ‘one who hates humankind.’ That’s a first for me.”
The report helped persuade Juvenile Court Judge Dana S. Preisse to rule that Thompson isn’t likely to respond to treatment in the juvenile system.
She granted the prosecution’s request to send the case to adult court.
“When you look at the serious nature of the crime that was committed and all the other factors, I think those weigh heavily in favor of the transfer to adult court,” she said.
Preisse set his bail at $1 million. Thompson sat silently beside his parents during the hearing and did not react to the ruling.
He was 14 when he was arrested in the death of Jaurice A. Blakely, 18, who was shot about 12:20 a.m. on Jan. 13 inside Players Family Billiards, 4380 E. Main St.
Hogan said Thompson entered the pool hall with two others, pulled a 9 mm handgun and fired three shots, killing Blakely and injuring another patron. Thompson then went outside and fired at three other people but missed, he said.
As part of Davis’ evaluation, Thompson took a pair of standardized tests that showed he has a high risk for reoffending and a low probability of successfully responding to treatment in the juvenile system, Hogan said.
Under Ohio law, a transfer to adult court is mandatory for someone charged with murder at age 16 or 17 if a juvenile court judge finds probable cause that the minor committed the crime.
Because Thompson was 14 at the time of the shooting, Preisse had to determine whether he is “amendable to treatment” in the juvenile system before granting the bindover.
Defense attorney Rick Piatt argued against the bindover, saying that the juvenile system has not exhausted all treatment options for his client.
Thompson, despite a history of delinquency offenses and probation violations, has never been committed to the Department of Youth Services, Piatt said.