A 17-year old Royal Lake male, charged in connection with the shooting death of a 16-year old boy from Royal lake, was in Bond County Circuit Court Tuesday morning for a detention hearing.
Circuit Court Judge Chris Bauer ordered the defendant continue to be detained at the Madison County Detention Home in Edwardsville until another detention hearing is held on May 16.
The defendant faces three charges. The incident occurred on April 26 at a residence in Royal Lake. The victim died a few days later in a St. Louis hospital.
Charges against the defendant are involuntary manslaughter, concealment of a homicidal death, and obstructing justice.
The involuntary manslaughter charge alleges the juvenile defendant, acting in a reckless manner, performed an act likely to cause death or great bodily harm in that he discharged a firearm in the presence of the victim, causing the boy to be shot, and thereby causing the death.
The concealment charge alleges the defendant, with the knowledge that the victim had died, concealed the death by falsely reporting the victim shot himself with the handgun.
The obstructing justice charge alleges the defendant, with the intent to obstruct the prosecution of himself, knowingly planted false evidence in that he placed the handgun next to the victim’s body, to make it appear the victim shot himself.
