Metro

HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Blair County judge heard arguments for and against moving the case against a city teen allegedly involved in the 2024 New Year’s Day shooting from adult court back down to juvenile court.

Hezikiah Stehley, 18, appeared alongside defense attorney Joseph Addink for a decertification hearing in front of President Judge Wade A. Kagarise on Wednesday afternoon.

Stehley, then 16, was one of seven teenagers arrested and charged as adults in 2024 after shots were fired along the 700 block of Fourth Street in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. An ensuing police investigation found it was a planned act of gang violence following a long-standing dispute.

In his arguments for Stehley’s case to be transferred to juvenile court, Addink said more than two years had elapsed since the incident. He told Kagarise that Stehley had “been on probation this entire time” and had not gotten in trouble again.

Addink said Stehley only went along with the group leading up to the shooting.

“I haven’t seen any evidence that (Stehley) was one of the shooters,” Addink said.

He argued that the victim in the case was not innocent and said Stehley had “done a 180” since the incident in regards to his behavior.

When Addink told Kagarise the “goal of a juvenile case is to reform, not punish,” Kagarise pointed out that Stehley’s case wasn’t in juvenile court.

“If it were, that would be the goal,” Addink said.

He added that Stehley had a lower degree of culpability and would have to be found guilty through conspiracy or liability charges if his case went to trial.

Addink argued that adult probation might offer less opportunities to Stehley because they’re not accustomed to dealing with juveniles.

“I believe this is an appropriate situation for decertification given the level of culpability and improvement,” Addink said.

In his arguments, Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks said juvenile probation had no programs for people over the age of 18.

He reminded Kagarise of the doctor who evaluated Stehley and identified four areas that needed to be addressed, including continuing education and emphasizing positive peer relationships.

While the doctor assessed Stehley as having a low to moderate risk of reoffending in the future, Weeks said the evaluation didn’t factor in two cases against Stehley that occurred before the shooting.

One case involved an alleged altercation while the second was in regards to theft and possession of a firearm, Weeks said. Those cases are currently in juvenile court, but Weeks is petitioning to have them moved to adult court.

“The victim was still shot at, no matter how clean or unclean his hands are,” Weeks said.

When Kagarise questioned Weeks on whether or not any direct evidence existed that Stehley had a weapon during the shooting, Weeks said there was “no direct evidence or testimony.”

Despite this, Weeks said Stehley and his co-defendants “acted as a group.”

Following the hearing’s conclusion, Kagarise said he would take the matters under advisement and would issue his opinion on the matter by May 19.

Stehley faces single felony counts of criminal homicide, conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, criminal use of a communication facility, firearms not to be carried without a license, two felony counts of aggravated assault and two misdemeanor counts each of simple assault and disorderly conduct, as well as single misdemeanor counts of possession of a weapon and recklessly endangering another person.

He remains free after posting $150,000 bail.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor-Musselman is at 814-946-7458.