Kenneth White, 32, from Mt. Morris in October died after five teenagers threw rocks off an overpass in Michigan
Three of five Michigan teenagers aged between 15 to 17 have been found competent to stand trial after they were charged with second-degree murder in a deadly rock-throwing incident on Interstate 75.
A man died after the teenagers threw several rocks from the Dodge Road overpass that crashed through a van’s windshield and fatally hit Kenneth White, 32, from Mt. Morris in October.
The evaluations show Kyle Anger, 18, Mark Sekelsky, 16, and Trevor Gray, 15, were mentally competent at the time of the incident and can understand their charges, David Leyton the Genesee County Prosecutor said.
Anger is said to be the one who threw the six pound rock that struck White’s car.
White was immediately knocked unconscious. He was then rushed to the Hurley Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead.
Attorneys for Alexzander Miller, 15, and Mikadyn Payne, 16, did not request an examination to see whether they were mentally competent
White left behind a fiancee and four children. Speaking to WBTV, his fiancee Aimee Cagle discussed the heartbreak of telling her five-year-old son what happened to his father. ‘He was a good man and a good father.’
‘For some senseless act, for it to be just a rock, just to take him so soon,’ she said.
Anger’s, Sekelsky’s and Gray’s lawyers requested the exam to test whether they were mature enough to participate in the legal proceedings against them.
Attorneys for Alexzander Miller, 15, and Mikadyn Payne, 16, did not. All five boys are charged as adults with second-degree murder and other charges.
All five suspects are pictured here for their arraignment in front of Judge William Crawford on Tuesday, October 24, 2017, in Genesee County District Court in downtown Michigan
Leyton said ‘You want to make sure that person understands what they’re charged with, what’s gonna happen in court, what the role of the prosecutor is, what the role of the defense lawyer is, the role of the judges,’ reported KCRG.
‘You want to make sure the individual has the mental acuity, if you will, to follow through with the proceedings and to assist the defense lawyer. And me as the prosecutor, I want that too,’ he stated.
Police said the five suspects took 20 rocks to the Dodge Road overpass and threw them at vehicles on I-75.
Trevor Gray (left) and Alexzander Miller (right) appear in court for their arraignment in October 2017
Mark Sekelsky (left) and Mikadyn Payne (right) appear in court for their arraignment in October 2017
Several vehicles got hit by the rocks, including the van White was driving on the way home from a work project north of Detroit.
‘Man coming home from work, going home to see his family and his life is snuffed out just in an instant, in the snap of a finger by a very mindless act of a bunch of kids,’ Leyton said.
‘So he deserves justice, as does his family, and that’s first and foremost in my mind,’ he continued.
Kenneth White was rushed to the Hurley Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. He’s pictured with one of his children. He left behind four children and a fiancée
All five suspects could face life in prison for the second-degree murder charge. ‘I don’t think this was a deliberate attempt to take somebody’s life. It was a willful and wanton act that resulted in somebody’s death,’ Leyton said regarding the charges.
Each is also charged with conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and malicious destruction of property.
The suspects are due to appear in court with their attorneys on Thursday for a hearing, which marks their first appearance since November.
The three attorneys for Anger, Sekelsky and Grey said they are reviewing the competency exam results and could still ask for an independent evaluation during Thursday’s hearing.
Payne and Miller’s attorneys did not seek competency exams for their clients.
The family of White, including his fiancée Aimee Cagle (left), listen as the alleged perpetrators are arraigned on Tuesday, October 24, 2017
White is pictured here with his fiancée Aimee Cagle, they have four children together