Three teens charged as juveniles in a Nov. 27, 2019, double-fatal shooting in Bellefontaine will be tried as adults after a Logan County grand jury handed up seven-count indictments for each defendant on Tuesday.
Ethan Grim, 19; Josiah Bush, 18; and Elijah Barrett, 17, all of Urbana, each face two counts of complicity to murder; one count of complicity to aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; one count of complicity to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; one count of complicity to kidnapping, a first-degree felony; and two counts of complicity to felonious assault, second-felonies.
All three have been lodged in the Logan County Juvenile Detention Center since their arrests within days of the shooting which claimed Caleb Chamberlain, 22, and Anthony Scartz, 24, who died three days later.
Tuesday’s indictments came after Logan County Family Court Judge Kim Kellogg-Martin issued a ruling binding the cases over to the Logan County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Kellogg-Martin found probable cause that all three juveniles committed the charged offenses and also found that they were not amenable to rehabilitation as juveniles.
Logan County Prosecutor Eric Stewart’s office filed motions early on seeking to try the teens as adults.
Austin J. Allen, 22, was charged in a December, 2019, indictment with two counts of complicity to murder; one count of complicity to aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony; one count of complicity to aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; one count complicity to kidnapping, a first-degree felony; and two counts of complicity to felonious assault, second-felonies. He remains lodged in the Logan County Jail.
At the time of the shooting which occurred in the victims’ 601 W. Columbus Ave. residence, Grim was 17; Bush, 16; and Barrett, 15.
All four defendants face the possibility of life sentences if convicted on the murder charges.
On Nov. 27, 2019, officers of the Bellefontaine Police Department and personnel with the Bellefontaine Fire and EMS Department were dispatched to the residence shortly after 11:30 p.m. on a report of multiple shots fired and multiple injuries.
Chamberlin was found dead and Scartz was critically wounded. Two women at the scene were treated for non-gunshot related injuries.
Following the shooting, the three teenage suspects reportedly fled to Urbana to get Barrett help for a gunshot wound to one of his legs.
After he was flown to Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, investigators were alerted of his identity and Columbus police officers assisted to secure him at the hospital during treatment. Upon medical clearance, he was taken into custody and transported to JDC
Grim and Bush remained on the run until the morning of Nov. 28 when officers of the Urbana Police Department received and passed on a tip. Bellefontaine detectives then asked deputies from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office to check a residence in their jurisdiction which ultimately led to their capture.
Allen was taken into custody a day later.
