ALBION —
A northern Indiana boy convicted in adult court at age 12 in the killing of a friend’s stepfather will get a second chance to be tried in juvenile court after the state’s top court refused to hear his case.
A Kosciusko County court sentenced Paul Henry Gingerich in 2010 to 25 years in prison, saying he and two other boys conspired to fatally shoot 49-year-old Phillip Danner in a plot to run away to Arizona.
In December, the Indiana Court of Appeals threw out Gingerich’s guilty plea and sentence, saying a juvenile court judge rushed when he waived the case to adult court. The appellate court ordered a new hearing to determine if Gingerich should be retried in a juvenile court.
The Indiana attorney general’s office appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing Gingerich had signed a plea agreement and waived his right to appeal his conviction. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court upheld the appellate court’s decision.
Gingerich’s attorney, Monica Foster, said Gingerich phoned her from prison Friday.
“He’s a very, very quiet kid, but he was very happy,” she said.
Foster said the next step will be another waiver hearing in juvenile court to decide whether Gingerich should be retried as an adult.
“They’ll be looking at it as if he were a 12-year-old,” she said. But, she added, his behavior in prison would weigh in his favor.
While the state could ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, Foster doubted the justices would take it up because it involved state law.
Indiana attorney general’s office spokesman Bryan Corbin said Gingerich’s age at the time of the crime prompted a debate over juveniles’ rights, but it was important to remember victims also have rights.
Foster said in a previous court brief that Gingerich’s guilty plea was invalid because the case never should have been heard in an adult court, that Gingerich hadn’t understood the proceedings and that he had believed the judge was obligated to find him guilty.
Foster said in a brief that the lower court had not allowed Gingerich’s attorneys sufficient time to prepare or conduct a proper investigation into his competency for an adult trial, and accepted a probation officer’s erroneous testimony concerning the availability of facilities other than prisons for youths convicted of violent crimes.
Gingerich, who is now 15, was one of three juveniles charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the April 2010 shooting at Danner’s home near Lake Wawasee, about midway between Fort Wayne and South Bend. Police said Gingerich and a 15-year-old co-defendant shot and killed Danner and that another 12-year-old boy served as a lookout.
The 15-year-old pleaded guilty as an adult and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The other boy was sentenced to juvenile detention until age 18.
Breaking News
Related Photos
-
Paul Gingerich
New hearing ordered for boy convicted of Cromwell murder
- Breaking News
-
-
Dozens treated after school buses collide
NORTH WEBSTER — A crash involving four Wawasee Community School buses Wednesday resulted in more than 50 injured students, according to Kosciusko County police.
-
Fitness Fridays begin at Parkview LaGrange
Looking for a way to “jump start” your weekend activities? Leaders at Parkview LaGrange Hospital invite the public to join them every Friday at 4 p.m. for a 2-mile walk around the hospital’s half-mile walking track.
-
UPDATE: Wawasee bus driver, some students taken to hospital after crash
SYRACUSE — A crash Wednesday afternoon involving four Wawawsee Community School buses has sent 25 children and a bus driver to local hospitals for treatment. The crash occurred on Ind. 13 near Clark Marina, which is between Wawasee Middle School and the North Webster town limits.
-
FIT FAMILIES: Hospital or home, which setting is best for delivering a baby?
It would be difficult to find a birth topic more emotionally charged than home delivery. Women and men of all socio-economic, educational and professional backgrounds tend to have strong ideas about home birth vs. hospital birth.
-
School bus crash in North Webster
Samirtan helicopters are en route to a wreck involving mutliple school buses in North Webster.
-
Shipshe Event Center receives AED
Visitors and staff at the Shipshewana Event Center and Hostetler’s Hudson Museum will have a little extra backup in case of emergency thanks to an automated external defibrillator that is now available on site.
-
Graduation season gets underway tonight
The time has come for local high school seniors to begin turning their tassels. After 13 years of schooling in many cases, the Class of 2013 is ready to graduate.
-
Fifth-graders give ‘State Fair’
NAPPANEE — Fifth-graders at Nappanee Elementary School proudly showed off their work at a state fair held Friday in the school gymnasium. The students have been studying states and the fair was the culmination of their work, which began in March.
-
GOSHEN CITY COUNCIL: Standards defined for future tax breaks
Goshen City Council members took the first step in what could soon be a universal approach to the way tax phase-ins are handled throughout Elkhart County.
-
Locals bend Lt. Gov. Susan Ellspermann’s ear on overregulation
Regulations, taxes and the rebound of the recreational vehicle industry were the topics Lt. Gov. Susan Ellspermann heard were important in Elkhart County during a visit Tuesday afternoon.
- More Breaking News Headlines
-
Raw: Kevin Durant Tours Moore After $1M Pledge
Weiner Launches Bid to Become NYC Mayor
Okla. Teens Get Video of Deadly Tornado Overhead
Man Shot While Questioned in Boston Probe
School Storm Protection Spotty in Tornado Zones
9-year-old Tornado Victim Loved Family, Singing
Moore Native Toby Keith Tours Tornado Damage
Oklahoma Survivors, Heroes Survey Damage
Okla. City Mayor: Up to 13K Homes Hit by Tornado
Raw: Aftermath of Deadly Attack in London
Paperless Scanner, Vision of the Future
Florida FBI Shooting Has Boston Bombing Links
Garcetti Elected Los Angeles Mayor Over Greuel
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado
IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment
Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case
