Judge weighs teen's court transfer

Youth charged in ’20 shooting that killed man, hurt another

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson said Friday that he'll decide within a week whether a North Little Rock teenager accused of killing one man and wounding another should stand trial as an adult.

The judge's pronouncement came after a 1½-day juvenile-transfer hearing for 17-year-old D'Anthony Williams who is charged with first-degree murder and first-degree battery in a June 2020 shooting that killed Nicholas Shane Menchue, 19, and wounded Tyresse Key-Shawn Pride, 21, at W. Short 17th St.

Arrested four days later, Williams was charged as an adult but defense attorney Robert Cortinez argued that Williams should be tried in juvenile court. There is "no evidence" that Williams shot the men, Cortinez told the judge

"There is no basis for these charges," he said.

Cortinez said the testimony of Williams' mother, Linda Williams, and Deborah Russell, the woman who raised him since he was a toddler, shows that the teen is a good student and faithful churchgoer who comes from a loving and supportive family, all of which make him an ideal candidate for the rehabilitation services available in the juvenile-justice system.

Deputy prosecutor Tracye Mosley told the judge that the juvenile justice system has little to offer D'Anthony Williams because he turns 18 in two weeks, which would make him too old to qualify for most of the programs offered to juvenile offenders. Further, juvenile-justice authorities would be able to retain jurisdiction over Williams for only three years until he turns 21.

Menchue was shot in the back, likely as he was running away, with the bullet exiting his chest near his throat, and the brutal nature of the crime is enough to justify trying Williams as an adult, the prosecutor said.

Social media photographs of Williams posing with guns and smoking show that Williams carries himself like an adult, another factor the judge must consider in deciding where Williams will be tried, Mosley told the judge.

She also asked the judge to consider video evidence that shows Williams carrying two guns -- different weapons at different times -- at the time of the slaying. Williams was not truthful when questioned after the killing, the prosecutor noted.

Detective Michael Gibbons testified that Williams had denied being at the shooting scene or carrying a gun until police showed him security video from a house next to where the men were shot. Williams then acknowledged that he'd been at the location with a gun, Gibbons told the judge.

According to police reports, Menchue was found dead in the alley behind 2021½ W. Short 17th St. around sunrise June 28, 2020. Investigators reported discovering camera footage that showed Williams and another teen, Jordan Clark, together in the area, both with guns, pointing the weapons and running shortly before midnight the previous night. Police reportedly recognized the teens from the video.

Police knew that Pride had shown up at a hospital with a gunshot wound in the neck about two hours after the video was recorded. Pride initially told police that he'd been shot on West Scenic Street but refused to cooperate more, according to reports.

He contacted police shortly after Menchue's body was found to say he and Menchue had gotten into a confrontation with two teens who he knew as "DA" and Jordan, and that DA pulled a revolver and shot at them.

Questioned by police, Clark said he was present when the gunfire started, adding "everyone started shooting," but he refused to answer questions about who fired first and invoked his right to consult with a lawyer.

Called Thursday as a defense witness in the juvenile-transfer hearing, Clark declined to answer questions about what happened that night, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Court records show that Pride has been charged in two shootings since he was wounded last summer. He also has been declared a fugitive after missing a May 24 court appearance, records show.

Pride is accused in a July 2020 shooting that targeted Victor Terrance Anderson, 23, of Jacksonville at 600 E. Broadway in North Little Rock. Anderson told investigators that he and Pride were admiring each other's pistols when Pride grabbed Anderson's gun and made off with it.

Pride got into a car and left, firing once at him as the car drove off, Anderson said. Confronted by police, Pride ran and apparently dropped a gun during the chase, according to the report. After his arrest, Pride said he had paid Anderson $200 for the weapon and denied shooting at him.

In Little Rock, police have named Pride and Kelvin Lamont Higgins Jr. of Little Rock as suspects in a December shooting at the Spanish Jon Apartments home of Higgins' ex-girlfriend, Tiwanna Dowell, at 5001 W 65th St.

Dowell told police that Higgins showed up at her residence in the middle of the night, banged on the door and demanded that she let him in. When she did not open the door, shots were fired into her bedroom window, she reported. Her four children were in the apartment with her.

According to an arrest report, video surveillance shows Higgins, 22, pointing at Dowell's bedroom window while a man with him opens fire at the apartment. After he was arrested, Higgins identified Pride as the shooter.

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