A pair of teenaged armed robbery suspects will be tried in juvenile court, a Pulaski County Circuit judge ruled Monday after hearing testimony that the 17-year-old defendants had never had any serious brushes with the law.
Deputy prosecutor Jennings Morgan argued that Taylor Rhodes and Eduardo Paniagua, both of North Little Rock, should be tried as adults over accusations they robbed a third teenager, Malik Joshua Williams, at his Westfield Loop home in Little Rock about a week before Halloween.
Both teens have had previous misdemeanor arrests: Paniagua for marijuana possession and Rhodes for resisting arrest, prosecutors said.
But Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson sided with defense attorney Bill James, appearing for Rhodes, and lawyers Adam Childers and Juan Carlos Hernandez, representing Paniaqua, who argued the teens could be rehabilitated.
Johnson said he believed the pair could be rehabilitated by the time they turn 21 through the juvenile justice system. But he ordered them classified as extended juvenile-justice offenders, a designation that makes them eligible to be sentenced to adult prison if a judge determines they have not been rehabilitated by age 21.
Little Rock robbery detective Julio Gil told the judge that Williams, 18, had arranged to sell some sneakers to Rhodes and Paniagua, but Paniagua pulled a handgun equipped with a laser sight and the pair took the shoes without paying.
Williams did not report the holdup, Gil said. Police only learned about what had happened the following day, Oct. 26., when Williams was at school, North Little Rock High School, and saw Rhodes and Paniagua wearing the shoes. He confronted them, and a fight broke out, the 11-year police veteran said.
Paniagua denied any involvement in the shoe theft, telling police he was at his job as a hotel cook when Williams said he was robbed. Rhodes told police he had been at Williams' house with another man, not Paniagua, to buy shoes, but said he never saw anyone with a gun and denied participating in any holdup, Gil testified.
Williams gave investigators text messages he had exchanged with Rhodes that show them arranging for Williams to show Rhodes the shoes he was selling, Gil testified. He said the texts also show Rhodes telling Williams he was lucky that he had been "spared" that night.
Williams said he did not call police immediately because he was so upset he didn't know what to do, the detective said. However, there were also texts between Williams and Rhodes showing that Williams challenged Rhodes to a fist fight at school. Rhodes declined in favor of an organized boxing match, Gil said.
Metro on 03/19/2019