ORLANDO, Fla. – A judge ruled in court Wednesday a 10-year-old girl who was arrested on a murder charge after the fatal shooting of a woman fighting her mother would stay in custody.
The girl, who News 6 is not identifying at this time, was arrested Tuesday and faces a second-degree murder charge. The girl’s attorney asked the judge to release her on an ankle monitor to her father’s custody and argued she is being “severely traumatized” in the juvenile detention center.
The state told the judge they believe the 10-year-old should be kept in juvenile detention, with the judge ultimately ruling the girl would remain in custody.
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“She has absolutely no record. She is a severely traumatized 10-year-old. The juvenile detention center was not set up to take care of kids this young,” her defense attorney said.
The girl’s father, Dewan Dennis, made a passionate plea to the judge for her release into his custody. He said she would be under constant adult supervision.
“I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that my daughter gets all the help that she needs,” Dennis said. “I’ve already bought coloring books, stuff to occupy her time.”
Her attorney said she needed to be with her family as the case plays out in court.
“She obviously has the most supportive father possible and she’s surrounded by a family that loves her and I think they need to be together,” her defense attorney said.
But the state argued she should remain in detention due to the seriousness of the crime.
“While I understand her age is a component, we have to look at the nature of the offense and the charges that have been alleged and the facts that have been alleged for the community’s safety,” the prosecutor said.
The judge ultimately ruling the girl would remain in custody for the next 21 days.
Prosecutors also asked for a 9-day extension as they gather more information on the case. The judge denied the prosecutor’s motion.
Orlando police responded to the shooting on May 30 at the Jernigan Gardens Apartments, formerly known as the Windsor Cove Apartments, on Mercy Drive. Officers learned Lashun Denise Rodgers, 41, and Lakrisha Isaac, 31, got into a physical fight when Isaac handed a bag to here daughter that contained a gun.
Police said the girl fired two rounds that hit Rodgers. She was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
While the 10-year-old girl was arrested, the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office released a statement that “no charging decision has been made.”
“Our office has started the process of reviewing this case and will consider all of the facts, including the age of the child, and all of the surrounding circumstances, when making a charging decision,” the statement from Monique Worrell said. “We anticipate that whatever charges we eventually file, if any, will ensure she receives the interventions necessary to address her behavior, help her change and grow, and ensure the public’s safety going forward”
A witness reported he heard the girl shout before the shooting, “She shouldn’t have hit my momma.”
The girl’s mother faces charges of manslaughter by culpable negligence, aggravated assault with a gun, negligent storage of a gun and neglect of a child from the incident.
The attorneys and judge will return to court on June 28 for another hearing.