Judge Has Brutal News For Teens Who Senselessly Murdered Father Of Five

A judge denied bail for five teenagers accused of throwing rocks from a highway overpass and killing a 32-year-old father.

The five teens were arraigned before Genesee County, Michigan, District Judge William H. Crawford II on Oct. 24 on charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder and malicious destruction of property, as well as other felony and misdemeanor charges, according to MLive.

Authorities charged the teens in connection with the death of 32-year-old Kenneth A. White, who was killed when a rock thrown from a highway overpass crashed through the windshield of a van he was traveling in, striking him in the head and chest.

White was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The five teens charged in connection with White’s death are Kyle Anger, 17, Mikadyn Payne, 16, Mark Sekelsky, 16, Alexzander Miller, 15, and Trevor Gray, 15. All five teens live in Clio, Michigan.

The suspects’ families, as well as White’s family, were in court as Crawford denied the teens bail, citing “the seriousness of the nature of these charges and the danger to the public.”

“The judge denied bond because he said it was a very serious incident and thought bond was inappropriate,” said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton, according to The Washington Post.

The five suspects were charged as adults and face up to life in prison in connection with White’s death.

The teens allegedly threw more than a dozen rocks from an overpass along southbound I-75. They reportedly gathered the rocks, one of which weighed 20 pounds, from a dead-end street and brought them to the overpass in the bed of a pickup truck.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said the teens also threw an engine piston and tires onto the highway, MLive reports.

Pickell added that this is not simply a case of teens joking around:

It’s not a prank. It’s second-degree murder. I don’t think anybody is laughing. I think if there’s any warning both David and I could give, it’s telling young people you make a bad decision you could be spending the rest of your life in prison. This is not a prank.

Some called for first-degree murder charges in the case, but Leyton said the case does not call for such charges.

“While some may be saying, ‘Well, we want first-degree murder,’ I don’t believe there was pre-mediation [to cause a death] here,” Leyton said.

Sources: MLive, The Washington Post / Featured Image: Pixabay / Embedded Images: MLive, The Detroit News/Twitter