Boy, 17, ordered held in shootings on Tecumseh St.

Damar Smith, a 17-year boy from Toledo, is to appear in juvenile court again Thursday at a pretrial hearing to face murder and felonious assault charges.

The Smith youth -- accused of injuring Terrance Cohen, 37, and killing Vicktron Moore, 30, both of Toledo, during a shooting in the 900 block of Tecumseh Street on May 31 -- was ordered Monday by Judge Denise Navarre Cubbon to be held in the Lucas County Juvenile Detention Center.

Judge Cubbon entered a not-guilty plea on the teen's behalf.

Police have not discussed a possible motive for the shooting but said both victims have been convicted of drug-related crimes.

The Smith youth's appointed attorney, Ken Phillips, said he isn't sure yet how police connected the teen to the crime but added that he filed for discovery on Monday afternoon and hopes to have more information soon.

Initial information provided by the court indicated that the teen is a student at Life Skills of Toledo, but a school spokesman said the youth has never been a student there.

Marci Cannon Fisher, from the juvenile court, wrote in an email that court records last reported that the youth was enrolled at the Mayfair Achievement Program in 2009.

Patty Mazur, a Toledo Public Schools spokesman, said the Smith youth has been inactive in the district since October, 2010.

In court with the teen on Monday morning were his parents and several others, including his days-old son.

Mr. Phillips said the baby was born May 31, the same day as the shooting.

Moore died of a single gunshot wound to the head, Dr. Diane Scala-Barnett, a Lucas County deputy coroner, has said.

A Toledo police report stated that Cohen was shot in the shoulder.

The two men reportedly were sitting in a vehicle talking to someone when that person opened fire inside the car, police said.

That caused the vehicle to lurch forward and slam into the side of a vacant house at 923 Tecumseh St.

Moore is the city's 12th homicide victim this year; the Smith youth is the third teenager to be accused of murder in Toledo.

Jacob Rodriguez, 16, of Oregon, was charged in the shooting death of Rory Hunter, 23, whose body was found in an East Toledo field on Jan. 10.

He has been certified to be tried as an adult.

Devon Daly, 18, of Northwood, is also charged in the shooting death.

Mr. Daly has a trial date of June 11; the Rodriguez youth is scheduled to face a judge on July 30.

"Gun cases right now have just been unbelievable," Lori Olender, a prosecutor in Juvenile Court, said.

On Monday, Dequan Tatum, 17, accused of having a role in a Feb. 19 shooting incident in Springfield Township in which two men were injured, was certified to stand trial as an adult.

His bond was set at $150,000, Ms. Olender said.

Because the Smith youth is 17 and is charged with murder, it is mandatory that Ms. Olender file certification paperwork to charge him as an adult and move the case to Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

Ms. Olender said she hoped to have the certification paperwork filed by Thursday.

She added that the boy has not before been found delinquent of a felony offense.

Filing the certification is necessary because, otherwise, the youth, who will turn 18 in August, if convicted, would be sent to the Department of Youth Services until he was 21, Ms. Olender said.

"The state doesn't think three years is sufficient," Ms. Olender said after the hearing.

Contact Taylor Dungjen at: tdungjen@theblade.com, 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @tdungjen_Blade.