By BILL FREEHLING
UPDATE: Four JM football players, once facing felony charges, were convicted of misdemeanor assault and received community service sentences.
Two James Monroe High School students charged in connection with the Jan. 20 slaying of a Courtland High School junior were denied bond yesterday in Spotsylvania County.
Circuit Judge Ann Hunter Simpson denied the bond requests of two suspects, both 16 years old. Each had appealed Juvenile Court Judge Joseph J. Ellis' earlier decisions denying them bond.
Simpson's decision came despite testimony from two girls attending the party that one of the teens did not take part in the attack that left Courtland High student Baron P. Braswell II dead.
In addition, attorneys John Spencer, who represents one suspect, and Eugene Frost, who represents another, argued that their clients had nothing to do with Braswell's death and that witnesses would testify to that.
Two girls, age 13 and 17, who attended the party testified that two defendants were with them when the fight broke out. The girls said that neither boy was involved in the fight.
The two teens will continue being held at the Rappahannock Juvenile Detention Center along with the other four juveniles charged in connection with the stabbing death of the 16-year-old Braswell.
Fredericksburg resident Marvin M. Parker II is charged with first-degree murder; police say he is the only suspect in the stabbing. Parker also is charged with conspiracy to commit assault by mob, assault by mob and participation in a street gang.
The other five boys, all of whom are football players at James Monroe, are accused of playing a role in Braswell being punched to the floor, kicked and stomped.
Those boys are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to commit malicious wounding by mob, malicious wounding by mob and participation in a street gang.
Judge Simpson kept yesterday morning's bond hearing--which Braswell's parents attended--open to the public. One teen has a bond hearing scheduled for this morning.
Another suspect's father told the judge his son has never had problems with the law.
Spencer said in court that that suspect was an "innocent man" who "shouldn't be sitting in jail." Spencer said the boy is a good student, athlete and school leader who has wanted to be a pediatrician since he was 8 years old.
"This man didn't do it," Spencer said about the teen. "He had nothing to do with it."
Spotsylvania Commonwealth's Attorney William Neely said in court that one of the co-defendants confessed and said the teen was involved in the kicking and stomping. He said he has evidence that the young men charged were involved in another "beatdown" against a different person a week before Braswell's death. And he wondered why the girls hadn't told detectives what they'd seen.
"The charges have not been filed lightly," Neely said.
One suspect's mother testified that her son is always helpful around the house and has shown no evidence of a violent personality. Frost said the boy has no criminal record, and he said he will eventually call witnesses to testify that his client wasn't involved in the fight. Frost said merely being at a party wasn't enough for officials to "hold him captive."
Neely said that the co-defendant who implicated one suspect did not implicate another. But the prosecutor said that other witnesses have said the second suspect was involved.
Simpson's decision to deny bond angered family members.
Students in juvenile detention attend an on-site school that uses the protocol of the Spotsylvania public school system, said Cheryl Watkins, principal of the detention center school.
Students go to class between 7:45 a.m. and 3 p.m., Watkins said. They take core classes--math, science, English and social studies--as well as courses covering computers and health.
Funded by the state Department of Education, the school employs eight teachers and has middle and high school students. Time is set aside for study hall, and teachers at the students' home schools can send work to the detention center if they choose. Students can work toward GEDs and degrees at their home schools, Watkins said.
Another detention review hearing is scheduled for all the defendants in juvenile court on or about Feb. 10. The next scheduled hearing is on April 28. At that time, a juvenile judge will determine whether there is probable cause and whether to transfer the cases to adult court.
Neely has said he intends to transfer all the cases to adult court. He said the transfer will be automatic as long as they can prove there is probable cause to believe the defendants committed either murder or malicious wounding by mob.
Witnesses said more than 100 teenagers from all over the Fredericksburg area attended the hotel party. According to people who went, Braswell was stabbed while "Knuck If You Buck" by Crime Mob was playing. People jumped around and yelled the names of their high schools.
Spotsylvania Sheriff Howard Smith has said some in the crowd started yelling "Mayfield Mob" and flashing a signal--putting down three fingers to form the letter "M" on each hand.
Standing near that group, Smith said, Braswell yelled "Courtland Cougars!" He said Baron was punched and knocked to the ground about 11:30 p.m.
Neely said in court yesterday that five or six people kicked and stomped the boy. Neely said Parker lunged at the boy and stabbed him in the heart with a knife.
Braswell, a standout football and track athlete, was pronounced dead at Mary Washington Hospital later that night.
Smith has said detectives believe the people charged are members of the Mayfield Mob, named after the city neighborhood where some of them live. He thinks the group came to the party looking for trouble, but believes that Braswell was an innocent victim.
Fredericksburg police and a number of Mayfield residents have said the JM students are not members of a gang. Frost also said that in court yesterday.
Neely said in court yesterday that the trial probably won't occur for at least a year. Frost said in court that a jury trial is inevitable if the case goes to Circuit Court.
To reach BILL FREEHLING:
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com