The case of a 15-year-old Luthersburg boy charged in the shooting death of a 12-year-old girl will be transferred to the Clearfield County Juvenile Court for disposition, according to a decision Friday by the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

In issuing its 20-page opinion, a panel of Superior Court judges upheld a ruling by Clearfield County Judge Fredric J. Ammerman made a year ago, in which he determined it was in the “public’s interest” to transfer homicide charges against Aaron John Klingensmith for review in the Juvenile Court as opposed to his being tried in the adult Criminal Court.

Klingensmith was only 14 years old when he and the 12-year-old were sitting on a couch in his home.

According to the Superior Court opinion, Klingensmith found a gun sitting atop his family’s gun safe and asked his young friend if she wanted to see it.

Klingensmith was familiar with the gun, according to the appeals court.

He admitted to police “he had previously handled the weapon and practiced chambering and unchambering rounds (of ammunition).”

As he attempted to show the gun to the girl, he did not realize there was a round already chambered in the weapon, and, as he told police, when he pulled the trigger, it fired — a bullet striking and killing the 12-year-old.

The shooting took place on April 28, 2024, and the young girl died on May 1 from the bullet, which struck her in the head.

The teen was charged with an array of offenses: homicide, aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter and murder in the third degree.

His attorney Cris A. Pentz sought to have the case transferred from the adult Criminal Court to the Juvenile Court, which normally reviews criminal cases of alleged perpetrators under 18 years of age.

The defense contends the shooting was a tragic accident.

A psychologist, Dr. Veronique Valliere of Fogelsville, evaluated Klingensmith, and she concluded Klingensmith “did not act with malice; the shooting was accidental; that he does not pose a risk to the public, and he is amenable to treatment and rehabilitation.”

According to the Superior Court panel, the defense filed a motion to transfer proceedings to the Juvenile Court.

A hearing was held on Nov. 24, 2024.

The prosecution was led by Clearfield County District Attorney Ryan P. Sayers.

The government took a different view of the case, emphasizing the “undisputed facts establish (the teen) acted with wanton and willful disregard of an unjustified and extremely high risk that his conduct would result in death or serious bodily injury to another.”

Pennsylvania has a Juvenile Act that outlines a procedure for the transfer of cases from the adult Criminal Court to the Juvenile Court.

The Superior Court panel explained the intent of the Act “is to protect the public by providing children who commit delinquent acts with programs of supervision, care and rehabilitation which provide balanced attention to the protection of the community, the imposition of accountability for offenses committed and helping children become productive members of the community.”

The Act itself requires the court reviewing the proposed transfer to mull several questions, such as the impact on the victims of the crimes committed by the juvenile, the impact of the crime on the community, the ongoing threat to the community and the nature of the alleged offenses.

Other factors include whether the youngster is amenable to treatment and whether there is time to treat the youngster under the juvenile system (he will be released from the system at age 21).

The Superior Court related that Ammerman found Dr. Valliere to be credible in her assessment that Klingensmith would not be a “threat to public safety.”

The government, however, argued that the teen knew the gun was loaded when he pulled the trigger.

The appeals court concluded, “at this stage of the case, we cannot agree with the Commonwealth that (Klingensmith’s) intent to shoot the victim is so clear cut.”

The teen, the appeals court explained, told police he did not know the bullet was chambered and there is no evidence that the shooting was premeditated.

“Dr. Valliere opined (Klingensmith) had no intention of killing the victim, and the Commonwealth has introduced no evidence which would undermine that assessment,” the opinion continued.

Ammerman, in his opinion granting the transfer of the case to the Juvenile Court, pointed out that Klingensmith has no prior record and has not been in the justice system before.

“The incident is believed by the Court (Ammerman) to be mostly a tragic accident and stupid mistake, not an act of malice, and Dr. Valliere outright stated that she believes (the teen) would be amenable to treatment.”

The Superior Court panel that included Judges Mary Jane Bowes, Victor P. Stabile and John T. Bender ended their opinion by stating the transfer of the case to the Juvenile Court “would be in the public’s interest.”

“As the trial court did not abuse its discretion in weighing the statutory factors, and the Commonwealth’s arguments are otherwise without merit, the order transferring the case to the Juvenile Division must be upheld.”