Judge denies lawyer's request to transfer Oxford school shooting suspect out of adult jail

DETROIT — The defense team for Oxford High School shooting suspect Ethan Crumbley argued in court Monday that an adult jail is not the right place for their teenage client and sought to have him moved to a juvenile facility pending the outcome of his case.

The defense expressed concerns that Crumbley can hear the adult prisoners in nearby cells, which is a violation of a federal statute, and argued that the teen's mental and emotional wellbeing may be harmed in that environment. A juvenile facility is more fitting, where he could go to school and get more help with what he's going through, they argued.

"This is someone who has never been in trouble before. This is not someone who has a history of assaulting kids, or any other negative contact with his peers. This one isolated incident is all that we are looking at here today," Crumbley's lawyer, Paulette Loftin argued to the court, adding: "There are other juveniles housed at Children’s Village charged with murder. This would not be the first time." 

But the prosecution objected, saying Crumbley, 15, is where he belongs given what happened.

"This was a mass murder at a school judge. It was planned. It was premediated... he targeted juveniles," said Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast, who scoffed at the defense lawyer's characterization of the shooting.

"This cannot be compared to any other case that this court or any court in this county has seen before," Keast said. "And calling this an isolated incident, frankly, does not do it justice."

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District Court Judge Nancy Carniak concluded that Crumbley, who has been charged as an adult, belongs in jail pending the outcome of his case.

"His conduct could be a menace to other juveniles. I think his placement is appropriate," said Carniak, who did, however, take into account the defense's concerns that Crumbley can hear other adult prisoners.

Under federal law, juveniles placed in adult jails or prisons are not allowed to be within sight or sound of adult inmates.

Deborah McKelvy, a guardian ad litem assigned to Crumbley, raised this issue in court, telling the judge: "I’m not sure that he is fully away from the sounds of the adult inmates. I understand the severity of what occurred. I think everybody does, including Mr. Crumbley."

But, McKelvy added: "I do have concerns for him and his mental and emotional wellbeing ... the jail is not conducive, not designed for juveniles."  

McKelvy urged the judge to consider sending him to Children's Village in Pontiac, Michigan, where he could attend school and have "more human services to help him through this."

"I’m imploring you," McKelvy told the judge, "he should be allowed to go back to the village."

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The judge disagreed. 

This debate over Crumbley's incarceration occurred during a probable cause conference, though both sides agreed to adjourn it until Jan. 7 due to a large amount of evidence in the case.

During the live-streamed hearing, Crumbley sat quietly in front of a video camera at the Oakland County Jail, with his face covered in a white mask. He now has a second lawyer, Amy Hopp, appointed to his case, which involves hundreds of interviews, video surveillance, social media posts and text messages.

A protective order has been entered in the case preventing evidence from being disclosed to people not authorized to review it. More than a dozen journalists attended the hearing Monday afternoon.

Attorneys in the case appeared via Zoom on a television screen hung on the wall in Carniak’s courtroom. The hearing lasted about 15 minutes.

Crumbley has been charged with first-degree murder and terrorism causing death stemming from the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shooting that left four students dead and seven others injured, including a teacher. 

The high school sophomore is accused of fatally shooting four people — Hana St. Juliana, 14; Tate Myre, 16; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; and Justin Shilling, 17. According to police and prosecutors, Crumbley shot up his school using a gun that his parents had bought him four days earlier as a Christmas present.

Crumbley is being housed in the Oakland County Jail along with his parents, Jennifer Crumbley, 43, and James Crumbley, 45. 

Jennifer and James Crumbley each have been charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday in the same courthouse. Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. According to prosecutors, the parents did not have the gun properly secured.

All three Crumbleys have pleaded not guilty.

Separately, a civil lawsuit seeking $100 million has been filed against the school district on behalf of a student who was shot in the neck and survived, and her younger sister who watched her sibling get shot.

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