Larry Lemon, the 18-year-old accused of gunning down another man in front of a convenience store in January, won’t get another chance in the juvenile justice system.
Teen accused in Arrington shooting to be tried as an adult
By LISA THOMPSON
lisa.thompson@timesnews.com
Judge William R. Cunningham has issued an order that rejects a defense request to transfer Lemon’s case to Juvenile Court.
In a written opinion, Cunningham said Lemon has been involved with the juvenile justice system for an escalating series of crimes that began with a theft when Lemon was 11 years old and peaked several years later when he assaulted a person with a board in a home and made terroristic threats to others at the present-day Central Career and Technical School.
Cunningham said the courts repeatedly offered Lemon services to address any “educational, substance abuse, mental health, vocational or any other need,” yet Lemon wound up accused of shooting Steven Arrington II, just seven months after Lemon was released from his most recent placement in a juvenile detention facility.
“After providing the defendant all of these comprehensive resources, the community has a right to expect that the defendant would not be in possession of a handgun and shooting someone at point-blank range in a parking lot outside a grocery store,” Cunningham wrote.
Tags: juvenile justice, PENNSYLVANIA, teen released from juvenile hall accused in arrington shooting