13-year-old is accused of first-degree murder, remains in juvenile custody

Thirteen-year-old Antwuan D. Taylor sat behind the defendant’s table Friday in Wyandotte County Juvenile Court, possibly the youngest person in the county ever to face a first-degree murder charge.

The family of the victim, Charles McElroy, sat just a few feet away as prosecutors told the court that they would seek to try the boy as an adult and that the court should not release him from juvenile custody.

Judge David W. Boal agreed to keep Antwuan in custody, then scheduled a May 20 hearing to determine whether he should face trial as an adult.

Antwuan is accused in the April 19 shooting death of McElroy, 47.

The Star does not routinely run the names of juveniles charged with crimes, unless those crimes are violent felonies or the juvenile is ordered to stand trial as an adult.

After the judge’s decision to keep Antwuan in custody, McElroy’s relatives showed no signs of relief or vindication. Instead, they reached out to Antwuan’s family and, amid tears, and exchanged hugs and handshakes.

Outside the courtroom, a woman who identified herself only as McElroy’s mother spoke briefly about the tragedy that had fallen on both families. Of the young defendant’s mother, she said: “I’m praying for her.”

Prosecutors shared few details of the crime, which occurred near 32nd Street and Brown Avenue in Kansas City, Kan.

Mollie Hill, assistant district attorney, did allege that the shooting was unprovoked and that McElroy was unarmed. She also said that the boy attempted to flee police when he was arrested.

After the hearing, District Attorney Jerome A. Gorman, who was present in the courtroom but did not speak, said the boy was one of the youngest to face murder charges in the county.

“I can’t think of any younger,” said Gorman, who has worked in the prosecutor’s office for more than two decades.

He said the case was still under investigation and he could not yet say whether more charges would be filed. Gorman added that he did not believe the crime was gang- or drug-related.

Gorman said he was not aware of the boy being charged with any other crimes, but made his case for trying him as an adult. Noting that McElroy was shot multiple times and the evidence thus far indicates the crime was unprovoked, Gorman said the defendant could not be rehabilitated.

The best outcome, Gorman said, would be for the boy to spend the rest of his life in prison. If tried as a juvenile, he could not be kept in custody past the age of 22Ω.

This is not the first time Gorman has sought to have a young teenager tried as an adult.

In 2005, four teenagers ranging from 14 to 17 were charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of a man who was delivering Chinese food. Gorman asked the court to try all of them as adults.

The court agreed in the case of the 17-year-old, who was found guilty of the crime. The court decided to try the other three as juveniles. All three were found guilty and sentenced to a juvenile correction facility until the age of 22.

This story was originally published April 26, 2008 at 12:00 AM.