Teen to stand trial as adult on murder, robbery charges
6/8/2013There was a knock at the front door and sounds of a struggle inside the Twin Oaks apartment followed, Michael Kohlhofer said during a juvenile certification hearing Friday for Levi Jackson.
Mr. Kohlhofer, 20, was shot in his right leg; his friend, Nathaniel Phillips, was shot as he hid from the intruders, authorities reported.
Mr. Phillips, 20, of Toledo died of a single gunshot wound to the chest April 29.
The Jackson youth, 17, of Holland is charged with two counts of aggravated robbery and one count of murder in two cases: an April 28 robbery and the homicide.
In Lucas County Juvenile Court on Friday, the teen was certified to stand trial as an adult in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. His bond was set at $300,000.
Charges from both incidents were filed against three others.
Antonio Taylor, Jr., 19, of Holland is in the Lucas County jail on two counts of felonious assault and one count each of aggravated robbery, murder with a gun specification, and aggravated burglary.
He is to appear in common pleas court again on June 21.
Cody Ramsey, 17, signed an “iron-clad cooperation agreement” with prosecutors, said Lori Olender, who oversees the juvenile division of the Lucas County prosecutor’s office.
A murder charge against the Ramsey youth was dismissed and he was not certified as an adult. He was found delinquent of complicity to robbery and complicity to aggravated robbery. He is to be sentenced June 18; he could be sentenced to serve time in detention until he is 21, Ms. Olender said.
A robbery charge against Mary Guthrie, 17, for the April 28 incident, was dismissed.
David Wood, 17, testified Friday that he was texting his friend, the Ramsey youth, on April 28, and arranged to meet him so the Ramsey youth could buy marijuana.
When the Wood youth arrived at a home on Park Lane, in Toledo, the Ramsey youth was not there, but the Jackson and Guthrie youths were.
The Guthrie youth, described as the girlfriend of the Ramsey youth, was on the porch, and the Jackson youth told the Wood youth to pull around to the back of the house.
The Jackson youth allegedly pointed a gun at the Wood youth and robbed him of marijuana, the Wood youth testified.
On April 29, Mr. Kohlhofer, Mr. Phillips, and another friend were smoking marijuana at the third man’s apartment on Twin Oaks Drive when the shooting occurred, Mr. Kohlhofer said.
Mr. Kohlhofer testified he saw only Mr. Taylor with the gun, but the Jackson youth yelled, “Kill him, bust him,” and that he asked often, “Where’s the money?”
Another court date has not yet been set for the Jackson youth.
Contact Taylor Dungjen at tdungjen@theblade.com, or 419-724-6054, or on Twitter @taylordungjen.