SUPERIOR Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio held a closed-door bail hearing on Monday morning in the case of a 17-year-old who was identified as the operator of the vehicle that struck and killed 20-year-old Sophia A. Demapan on the night of July 27, 2021.
Following the hearing, acting chief prosecutor Chester Hinds told the media that the case was being handled as a juvenile matter.
“So, right now, I am very limited in what I can say,” he added.
He said the judge also ordered that no information would be released about what happened during the hearing. “At this time, all I can say is this is a sad and unfortunate incident, and we just want to try and get to the best resolution as we can, but for now we are limited in what we can say.”
Asked about the possibility of the criminal division requesting that the case be transferred to the adult court, Hinds said, “We will be discussing with the investigators. We will make a further determination if this is a case we would transfer to the adult court. For now, at this point, I am not going to make further comments.”
According to the Department of Public Safety, on Saturday, Aug. 7, at about 1:32 p.m., an arrest warrant was signed and issued by Judge Kim-Tenorio against the 17-year-old, with bail set at $100,000.
The charges were racing on the highway, speeding, reckless driving, operator’s failure to exercise due care, accident, failure to report an accident, and homicide by vehicle.
On the same day at about 5:09 p.m., police executed the warrant and transported the minor to the Department of Corrections where he was detained.
DPS did not release the name of the defendant.
According to Commonwealth law, vehicular homicide is punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.
