First Posted: 1/30/2015
LIMA — A 17-year-old boy expected to be charged with murder in the killing of another teenager was ordered to be held in custody Friday.
Damere M. Crockett is charged with felonious assault, but a prosecutor said the case is being reviewed with the chance to file a murder charge against him. Crockett said he was innocent during the hearing.
“I had nothing to do with it. I didn’t shoot nobody,” Crockett told the judge.
Allen County Juvenile Judge Glenn Derryberry ordered Crockett held in custody. Juvenile defendants do not get a chance at bond. A judge determines whether to hold or release them. The next hearing for Crockett will be the equivalent of an arraignment where he will have a chance to enter a plea to any charge filed against him.
Friday’s detention hearings for Crockett and another teen who may be connected to the slaying of Khylil Florence, 19, gave a glimpse into the events of Wednesday night. Crockett encountered two people about 9:55 p.m. he did not like in the 700 block of Greenlawn Avenue, Lima Police Detc. Todd Jennings said.
There was a fight, and Crockett pulled a firearm he used to shoot Khylil Florence and Darod Florence, 17. The two are cousins, Jennings said.
Darod Florence was shot in the knee and has since been released from the hospital. Jennings did not say where Khylil Florence was shot. Khylil Florence died early Thursday evening.
Darod Florence later picked Crockett out of a photo lineup as the person who shot him and his cousin, Jennings said. Police found Crockett the morning after the shooting, Jennings said.
Jennings asked the judge to keep Crockett in jail to protect the public.
Meanwhile, a second juvenile appeared at a detention hearing at juvenile court Friday who may be connected to the case. He is facing a probation violation charge and authorities are still trying to determine his involvement, if any, with the slaying, Lima Police Maj. Chip Protsman said.
Protsman said detectives continue to investigate the crime. He said it’s in the early stages and there remains a lot of work to do. Protsman would not release many details on the crime. The slaying is Lima’s first homicide of the year.
