Teen suspect in Bronx school slay could get kid-glove treatment
A Bronx judge has yet to decide whether the teen charged with fatally shooting an innocent 16-year-old girl with a “ghost gun” goes on trial in adult court — so prosecutors weren’t taking any chances Monday.
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office asked the judge for a few days to present its arguments on why Jeremiah Ryan, 17, should go through the system in state supreme court as an “adolescent offender,” as opposed to being tried as a juvenile in family court.
While the possibility of Ryan being sent down to family court is highly unlikely given the seriousness of the charges against him, there is too much at stake not to make sure prosecutors’ position is iron-clad, legal experts told The Post.
As an adolescent offender in supreme court, Ryan would face up to 15 years to life in prison if convicted of the top charge against him, second-degree murder, they said. Had he been a year older, he would have been tried as an adult in supreme court — and faced the maximum of 25 years to life behind bars.
But family court is a whole different — and more lenient — scenario, the experts said.
If Ryan were tried as a juvenile in family court, his potential sentence on a murder conviction would be capped at five years in prison.
“It’s understandable why the Bronx DA’s Office would take every possible precaution to make sure that this individual is prosecuted in supreme court, given that it is alleged that he shot an innocent 16-year-old girl while she was walking down the street in broad daylight,’’ said Mark Bederow, a former Manhattan prosecutor-turned-prominent defense lawyer, to The Post.
The crime “is every New Yorker’s worst nightmare.”
A family-court route is highly unlikely in this case because under the law, a 17-year-old defendant accused of a violent felony would typically remain in supreme court if he or she displays a gun or causes “significant physical injury.”
“The chances of this matter being removed to family court are extremely slim,” another top defense lawyer, Jason Goldman, told The Post.
“Given the uptick in violence, especially with a surge in firearms, I’d be surprised if the DA thinks this matter is better off in a more forgiving, lenient family-court setting.
“This isn’t the case they will take a chance on.”
Ryan’s case is back in supreme court Thursday, when prosecutors will present their arguments to keep it there.
Ryan’s lawyer did not seek bail for his client Monday, so the teen will remain behind bars at Rikers Island, at least for now.
The young accused killer wore a green long-sleeved sweatshirt over a white t-shirt and gray sweater pants for the proceeding. He did not speak.
His mother, who was in the courtroom, declined comment.
Police say Ryan fired six rounds from a 9 mm Polymer 80 ghost gun during a street beef with rivals Friday afternoon near the University Prep Charter High School, mortally wounding Angellyh Yambo and wounding two other students walking by.
Ghost guns are untraceable weapons that can be assembled at home from parts purchased online — and are a disturbing trend in the city.
Ryan — who law-enforcement sources say has been suspected of helping local gangs hide guns since he was 12 — was arrested at his home nearby. Cops busted him after allegedly spotting him toss the gun out of the fourth-floor apartment inside a garbage bag.
He was charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder and gun possession.
According to the NYPD, the department has seized 351 percent more ghost guns this year as of Wednesday compared to the same time period last year — or 131 vs. 29 of the weapons.
Police are still running forensics tests on the ghost gun Ryan allegedly had to confirm it was the weapon that killed Yambo — but detectives believe that it is.
