SALT LAKE CITY -
He's a child accused of a very adult crime. A 14-year-old boy, accusing of killing 18-year-old JoJo Brandstatt in a gang-related shooting at a West Valley City golf course last year.
Salt Lake County prosecutors on Tuesday rested their case in juvenile court, asking a judge to certify the boy as an adult to face a homicide charge. One of their last witnesses was Brandstatt's mother, Elka Fernandez.
"He told JoJo that he was going to die," Fernandez said of the boy outside of court. "He picked a place. He drove him there. He looked him in the face and told him, 'Where do you want to be shot?' He shot him not once, not twice, but three times. He laughed about it when my son's on that hill, choking in his own blood."
In court, the boy -- who is 6-foot-4 and weighs nearly 210 pounds -- has sat emotionless as witnesses have talked at length about his background. A juvenile court probation officer testified the boy dropped out of school in the seventh grade, was jumped into a gang at age 13 and got into a lot of trouble both at school and on the streets.
Presenting their case on Tuesday, defense attorneys countered that the boy has shown signs of progress in juvenile detention.
"He's actually made very, very significant progress in a very short amount of time once he has discipline, once he has structure, once he he has the kinds of things that children usually have and should have," the boy's defense attorney, Rich Van Wagoner, told Fox 13 News.
If he is convicted, defense attorneys want him kept there until he turns 21, where he has a chance at rehabilitation.
"If he goes there, he has, in my view and in the view of the experts, a much greater chance of not becoming a further burden on society," Van Wagoner said.
Fernandez, who clutched a locket carrying her dead son's picture, said it is too late for that.
"The court should have done something about (the boy) a long time ago, and didn't," she said, sobbing. "Maybe my son would be alive -- and they didn't."
Testimony in the case resumes on Wednesday. Judge Andrew Valdez could issue a ruling at that time.
FOX 13's Ben Winslow reports.
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Salt Lake County prosecutors on Tuesday rested their case in juvenile court, asking a judge to certify the boy as an adult to face a homicide charge. One of their last witnesses was Brandstatt's mother, Elka Fernandez.
"He told JoJo that he was going to die," Fernandez said of the boy outside of court. "He picked a place. He drove him there. He looked him in the face and told him, 'Where do you want to be shot?' He shot him not once, not twice, but three times. He laughed about it when my son's on that hill, choking in his own blood."
In court, the boy -- who is 6-foot-4 and weighs nearly 210 pounds -- has sat emotionless as witnesses have talked at length about his background. A juvenile court probation officer testified the boy dropped out of school in the seventh grade, was jumped into a gang at age 13 and got into a lot of trouble both at school and on the streets.
Presenting their case on Tuesday, defense attorneys countered that the boy has shown signs of progress in juvenile detention.
"He's actually made very, very significant progress in a very short amount of time once he has discipline, once he has structure, once he he has the kinds of things that children usually have and should have," the boy's defense attorney, Rich Van Wagoner, told Fox 13 News.
If he is convicted, defense attorneys want him kept there until he turns 21, where he has a chance at rehabilitation.
"If he goes there, he has, in my view and in the view of the experts, a much greater chance of not becoming a further burden on society," Van Wagoner said.
Fernandez, who clutched a locket carrying her dead son's picture, said it is too late for that.
"The court should have done something about (the boy) a long time ago, and didn't," she said, sobbing. "Maybe my son would be alive -- and they didn't."
Testimony in the case resumes on Wednesday. Judge Andrew Valdez could issue a ruling at that time.
FOX 13's Ben Winslow reports.
SEND US YOUR NEWS, WEATHER AND SPORTS PICTURES! www.fox13now.com/pics
FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! @fox13now
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