After a preliminary hearing earlier this month, an Oklahoma County judge has ordered a 17-year-old boy to stand trial for first degree murder and armed robbery.
Samuel Edward Myers, of Foster, is accused of robbing GI's Market in Midwest City in September before fatally shooting the store clerk on duty. Myers allegedly robbed the store of $200 and shot Salman "Sam" Tahir, 33, in the back, even as the clerk complied with his demands. A customer came into the store after the shooter left, finding Tahir lying wounded. The clerk was transported to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Within days, police identified Myers as a suspect and arrested him at a relative's home. Myers is charged as an adult with first degree murder and robbery with a firearm.
In a preliminary hearing in the case, a friend of Myers testified that the teen had been flashing cash the day of the robbery, but refused to say where he got it. The friend told him to leave because he "didn't want that in his grandma's house." After Myers left, the friend found a gun in his house, which he hid in his bedroom. Police found the gun during a search warrant and connected it to the murder. Live rounds from the weapon were traced to Myers's DNA.
At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing Oklahoma County Special Judge Larry Shaw ordered Myers to stand trial for first degree murder and armed robbery. Myers has pleaded not guilty.
The teen is charged as an adult in the case, under an Oklahoma law that requires teens aged 15, 16, or 17 who are charged with first degree murder to be tried as adults. Juveniles aged 13 or 14 may be charged as adults or certified as youthful offenders.
In most cases, a minor aged 15-17 charged with armed robbery would be tried as a youthful offender, which serves as an interim between juvenile prosecution and adult prosecution. This status recognizes that a crime may be more serious than typical juvenile crimes and in need of harsher punishment, but still considers the age of the defendant and his or her potential for rehabilitation. However, the state also says of juvenile prosecution,"Once an adult, always an adult." Since the defendant in this case is charged as an adult for first degree murder, his robbery charge is also given adult status.
First degree murder is punishable by life in prison or life without parole. However, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals recently ruled that a minor cannot be sentenced to life without parole unless it is proven in court that the defendant is "irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible."
Robbery or attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon or imitation firearm is punishable by a minimum of 5 years in prison.
Image credit: Bill Bradford
