Serna to be held while proceedings continue
A 17-year-old West Liberty-Salem High School junior will remain in a Marysville juvenile detention center pending proceedings to try him as an adult for Friday’s shooting.
Ely R. Serna, wearing a green sweatshirt, awaits the start of his detention hearing Monday before Champaign County Juvenile Court Judge Lori L. Reisinger. He is accused of shooting two fellow students at West Liberty-Salem High School on Friday. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | JOEL E. MAST)
Champaign County Juvenile Court Judge Lori L. Reisinger issued the decision Monday regarding Ely R. Serna, noting the alleged incident “involved significant planning.”
In arguing for continued detention, Prosecutor Kevin Talebi said the teen is “emotionally unstable” and “volatile” and he is a threat to the community and himself.
The teen has been charged with two counts of attempted murder; three counts of felonious assault; six counts of improperly discharging a firearm in a school; and single counts of inducing panic and illegal conveyance of a firearm into a school.
He is accused of shooting fellow high school student Logan Cole, 16, twice with a 12-gauge shotgun inside a boy’s restroom.
Logan is currently at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, facing more surgery and months of recovery.
A second student sustained non-life-threatening injuries from a shot.
Judge Reisinger told Mr. Talebi and defense attorney Michael R. Pentecost she wants to schedule a conference to discuss the next set of hearings.
First, there will be a probable cause hearing in which the judge will determine if there is enough evidence to support the charges.
It would be followed by an evaluation and hearing to consider whether or not the suspect can best be rehabilitated in the juvenile system or the adult system.
At Monday’s hearing, the suspect appeared amidst heavy security including more than a dozen deputies and a canine unit. He was not shackled during the hearing, but wore a ballistic vest under a green sweatshirt.
His mother, Amy Irwin, was present along with other family members. A number of supporters waited outside the third floor courtroom and were greeted by Ms. Irwin afterward.
Amy Irwin, mother of accused shooter Ely Serna, hugs a supporter in the third-floor hallway of the Champaign County Courthouse after her son’s detention hearing Monday.
Hugging, she repeatedly said, “Thank you so much for your support.”
Mr. Pentecost said the family is grateful for the support it has received from the community.
“They continue to pray for the community and the victim and his family,” he said.