Teen’s case moved to juvenile court

District Attorney’s office immediately appeals Doyle’s ruling in murder trial

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Second-degree murder and related criminal charges against a 16-year-old Altoona male involved in a fatal shooting were moved Wednesday to Blair County Juvenile Court, prompting the district attorney's office to immediately file notice of an appeal with the state Superior Court.

President Judge Elizabeth Doyle, in a partial order made available to attorneys Wednesday, granted a petition filed on behalf of Damien Green of Altoona, seeking to have his criminal charges transferred out of adult court. Green is one of four teenagers charged in the Feb. 25, 2020, fatal shooting death of 15-year-old Devon Pfirsching of Altoona.

"The ruling said she's granting decertification and finding that Damien is able to be treated and rehabilitated through juvenile court," defense attorney Dan Kiss said Wednesday.

District Attorney Pete Weeks said Wednesday, "The district attorney's office strongly disagrees with the court's decision."

Weeks and First Assistant Nichole Smith responded to Doyle's order by immediately filing a notice of appeal with the state court.

"We had to appeal it now, to make sure our concerns are heard before we run out of options," Smith said.

Transferring the case to juvenile court presents a concern for the community, Weeks said, because if Green is adjudicated delinquent, all measures imposed to supervise his behavior will end no later than his 21st birthday.

During court hearings convened in December and January, experts offered clashing testimony on the petition to transfer Green's charges -- second-degree murder, armed robbery and criminal conspiracy to commit armed robbery -- to juvenile court.

Forensic psychologist Alice Applegate of Pittsburgh said her review of the record indicated that Green was not one of the principal participants who allegedly planned the robbery that led to Pfirshing's death.

While Green was with Owen Southerland and Logan Persing when they confronted Pfirsching in an alley on the 100 block of Fourth Avenue, Applegate said Green didn't know Southerland had a gun and ran from the scene when the fatal shot was fired.

Weeks challenged that recollection in a court document filed in February when he pointed to text messages exchanged among Green, Southerland, Persing and Omedro T. Davis Jr. about the pending robbery.

"(Green) specifically contributes to a message conversation in which the 'glick' (slang for Glock handgun) is referenced several times and the other co-defendants reference a firearm of some sort in their description of how to employ it appropriately during the robbery," Weeks said.

Charges filed by Altoona police indicate that it was Southerland who was holding the Glock handgun that discharged during a struggle with Pfirsching.

Applegate recommended transferring Green's charges to juvenile court so Green could be directed to a juvenile treatment center for mental health treatment and services that will help him mature in a positive way by his 21st birthday.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. John S. O'Brien II of Philadelphia, however, concluded that Green was not amenable to treatment that could change him before his 21st birthday.

O'Brien reviewed school records identifying Green as aggressive and bullying with classmates, that he got into fights and was previously in juvenile court because of a fracus during a football game in September 2018. Court records indicate that he had 87 documented violations of Altoona Area School District rules between 2016 and 2020.

Kiss said he thought Doyle provided only a portion of her ruling moving Green's charges to juvenile court as a measure to avoid influencing Persing's decertification hearing slated to wrap up on March 18.

"That was my understanding from what I read," Kiss said.

Kiss also received notice of the appeal Weeks and Smith filed, but questions the reasons behind it.

In court documents filed Tuesday, Weeks took the position that Green's charges would remain in adult court because the judge failed to issue a ruling within 20 days after the hearing, as required by state law. While his document indicated that the judge had asked for a waiver of that time frame, which ended Feb. 5, Weeks advised that he knew of no authority for granting a waiver.

Kiss, in a court document filed Tuesday, said he had no objections to a delay in the judge's ruling.

"I am happy that the court recognized that Damien can be rehabilitated, that there's time for that ... because we believe he wasn't a principal actor," Kiss said. "But the ruling is bittersweet because a child needlessly lost his life due to the action of others."

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 946-7456.