Gregory’s attorneys sought to have those five counts moved back to juvenile court along with other charges on which he was convicted. However, Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Dennis Langer rejected that argument.
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Citing case law, Langer wrote “the juvenile court does not have jurisdiction to hear or determine the case subsequent to transfer.”
In juvenile court, Gregory is likely to face a much lighter sentence than if the case remains in adult court, officials have said.
Gregory and Bowers were both 16 when the defendant, according to his trial testimony, fired a shot Sept. 4, 2016 that resulted in the victim’s death. Based on a murder charge, the case was given a mandatory transfer from juvenile to adult court in 2017.
Gregory was indicted on — and pleaded not guilty to — two counts of murder, five counts of felonious assault and one count of discharging a firearm at or near a prohibited premise.
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The jury found him guilty of two counts of reckless homicide and a charge of discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises.
Because those charges do not warrant a mandatory transfer from juvenile to adult court, a “reverse bindover provision” to juvenile court applies in the case, Langer ruled in a decision handed down last week.
Prosecutors have said they want to retry Gregory on the felonious assault charges.
If he is found guilty on those charges, Gregory will then be sentenced in adult court on all convicted charges and that sentence will be stayed while the case returns to juvenile court, according to Langer’s ruling.
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