Suspect requests trial as juvenile

Persing charged with second-degree murder in Pfirsching shooting death

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Efforts on behalf of an Altoona teenager seeking to have second-degree murder and related charges transferred to juvenile court will resume today in Blair County Court.

Defense attorney Thomas M. Dickey, representing Logan Persing, who was 16 years old on Feb. 25, 2020, when he and two other teenagers allegedly initiated a robbery that led to the shooting death of 15-year-old Devon Pfirsching, offered witnesses Thursday in support of moving the charges out of adult court.

President Judge Elizabeth Doyle, who is convening the hearing through video transmissions, will render a decision in the future.

She has already ruled that first-degree murder and related criminal charges against Persing's co-defendant, Owen Southerland, accused of firing the fatal shot that killed Pfirsching in the alley on the 100 block of Fourth Avenue, will remain in adult court.

The judge's ruling on a request to transfer co-defendant Damien Green's second-degree murder and related criminal charges, from adult to juvenile court, is pending.

A fourth teenager charged in the incident, Omeda T. Davis Jr., withdrew his petition to have second-degree murder and related criminal charges moved to juvenile court.

While testifying Thursday, Drexel University psychology professor Kirk Heilbrun of Philadelphia reported that Persing did very well when he was incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Pine Grove, which houses juvenile offenders.

The psychologist said that Persing has been treated for mental health issues and that his academic skills fall below grade level.

He described Persing as having a "moderate risk" of future violence, but suggested that risk could be reduced through intervention.

"It's important for Logan to be in a structured, secured setting," Heilbrun said about the youth he assessed in preparation for the hearing.

Persing, who is now being housed at the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill, could see and watch the Blair County proceedings through video and audio connections.

District Attorney Pete Weeks quizzed Heilbrun as to how much he knew about the alleged incident and Persing's history.

Heilbrun said he knew that Persing made an online posting of a video clip from a "South Park" TV show episode that had to do with school shootings. He also was aware of an online photo of Persing with a gun -- a gun that Dickey said was not capable of being fired.

"I have some concerns about Logan's thinking about guns," Heilbrun said.

Weeks also asked Heil­brun about a statement Persing allegedly made to police investigators, indicating that school shootings could be funny.

Heilbrun agreed that laughing about school shootings sounds callous.

"No, I did not find him (Persing) to be a callous individual who lacks remorse or sympathy," the psychologist said.

In considering whether the charges can be transferred to juvenile court, Dickey asked Molly Wink, Deputy Chief of the Blair County Juvenile Probation Office, about Persing's fate if his charges are transferred.

Wink said Persing's charges are "not beyond what the juvenile system could handle," and that most likely, the offenses would land Persing in a state facility with restrictive measures.

"So Mr. Persing wouldn't immediately be going home?" Dickey asked.

"Juvenile probation would not be looking at releasing him to the streets," she said.

When questioned by Weeks, Wink also acknowledged that the juvenile court system ends its supervision when the offender turns 21 years old.

Weeks also questioned Wink about Persing's previous charges in juvenile court and she acknowledged that he was under supervision of her office at the time of the robbery and murder generating his current criminal charges.

When Weeks asked Wink if records in her office refer to Persing as "a significant danger to the community," she offered a one-word answer: "Yes."

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.