Two teenage half brothers, accused gang members charged in separate drive-by shootings in Little Rock, must stand trial as adults, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright ruled on Monday.
In one of the shootings, a man was gunned down in front of his mother on the day before his 20th birthday but survived.
Machun Sherrod Clinkscale and Adrian Clinkscale, 17-year-olds who are four months apart in age, had petitioned the judge to transfer their cases to juvenile court after prosecutors charged them as adults.
"If no attempt is made to rehabilitate him, the only help he is getting is to send him to the penitentiary, and that means locking him up with violent offenders," defense attorney Fernando Padilla said of his client, Adrian Clinkscale. "This seems to me a case of a young man who needs help."
Padilla and attorney Willard Proctor, on behalf of Machun Clinkscale, said the boys had never been through the juvenile justice system and should get a chance at participating in the system's available rehabilitative programs.
The lawyers also argued that the charges should be moved to juvenile court because there's no physical evidence against the brothers, only eyewitness reports.
In rejecting defense arguments, Wright found little evidence the brothers could be rehabilitated.
He cited the police accusations that they are members of the Westside Bloods street gang on John Barrow Road, the serious nature of the charges against them and the fact that the brothers both face similar accusations of gang-related gun violence.
Undisclosed to the judge is that another 17-year-old brother, Yuhanna Clinkscale, the eldest of the three, is currently in jail, accused with 16-year-old Matthew Hood of chasing down and shooting at two other teenagers on June 22 in the 2300 block of South Harrison Street. They have not been formally charged.
At transfer hearings for Machun and Adrian Clinkscale last week, Little Rock detective Roy Williams testified that Adrian Clinkscale has been identified as the gunman responsible for shooting up a home at 2705 Lewis St. in January.
Witnesses identified him as the person who fired a semi-automatic pistol with an extended clip from a passing car and said that Machun Clinkscale was in the vehicle, Williams said.
There were four adults and seven children at the residence, but no one was hurt, according to police reports.
Williams told the judge that Adrian Clinkscale was shot twice last year, in March and October, but refused to cooperate with police, even though he was gravely wounded in the neck and liver in one of those incidents, the detective said.
"He acted like he didn't know anything about it," Williams told the judge, saying that Adrian Clinkscale did not want to be labeled a "snitch." "He doesn't want to give it [information] because he's sticking to that code of not talking to police."
Deputy prosecutor Michael Wright showed the judge photos from Facebook that showed the brothers making gang signs and posing with at least one other known gang member. Several of the photographs showed the teen posing with guns, the prosecutor said.
Williams told the judge that Adrian Clinkscale is well-known to police as a gang member.
The teen also accidentally shot his cousin Shaquille Atkins, 20, on June 24, 2015, in the stomach at Atkins' home at 2932 Fulton St., according to the detective. A police report states that a distraught and apologetic Clinkscale told officers he had been playing with the weapon.
In the hearing for Machun Clinkscale, the prosecutor showed the judge surveillance video of the New Year's Day shooting of Edmond Daniels at the Skyroad Gas Mart on West 65th Street.
The recording doesn't show who shot Daniels on the day before his 20th birthday.
It shows a burgundy Impala driving through the convenience store parking lot, a hand holding a semi-automatic pistol with extended clip coming out of the vehicle to shoot Daniels, who was in front of the store, the prosecutor said. He was wounded in the face and chest.
The recording shows Daniels falling to the ground from the shots, getting back to his feet, then staggering to the door of the store before collapsing, according to testimony.
The video shows a friend, Anthony Williams, running up and trying to lift Daniels, the detective said.
The victim's mother, Marsha Daniels, was in another car on the parking lot and was able to see the gunman when the vehicle drove by, the detective said.
Edmond Daniels and Machun Clinkscale had been friends when they were younger, but had been feuding at the time of the shooting, according to testimony.
The brothers did get character endorsements from educators at the transfer hearing.
Wendy Ward, who had been Machun Clinkscale's elementary school teacher, told the judge she was a close friend of the family and had taught the teen, a younger brother and a cousin.
He "was one of my very best kids" from "a very Christian family," Ward told the judge.
Machun Clinkscale is "extremely smart," she said, describing how he qualified for gifted and talented programs as a third-grader and achieved high scores on all of the state's benchmark tests.
Frankie James, Adrian Clinkscale's science instructor at Central High School, called him a "very good student," describing how he worked to keep up with his studies last year while hospitalized after being shot.
"I think he could be anything he wanted to be," she told the judge. "He needs some help, some help to guide him to being productive in society."
Also testifying in support of Machun Clinkscale was his grandmother, Dorothy Stevens, who described him as a "very respectful" and obedient "homebody" who likes to cook and eat at home.
His mother couldn't attend the proceeding because she had to work, Dorothy Stevens told the judge. Marcella Stevens, 36, who works at a Sherwood pharmacy, would not tolerate her son involved with gangs or firearms, Dorothy Stevens testified.
Adrian Clinkscale's grandmother was too sick to attend the hearing. His mother, 35-year-old Ariel Janee McDaniel, was not called to testify on her son's behalf.
Court filings show that McDaniel has seven prior felony convictions, including for robbery, drug trafficking and gun possession.
McDaniel is in prison for parole violations and is awaiting trial after her March 9 arrest at her home at 1806 Wilson Road in a raid by Little Rock police.
According to an arrest report, officers found an SKS assault-style rifle in the home and recovered five stolen credit cards, a stolen car, a stolen TV and a stolen pistol.
McDaniel was charged with felon in possession of a firearm and felony theft by receiving, with her trial set for September.
Adrian Clinkscale was also arrested in the raid, but the charges were transferred to juvenile court.
Metro on 08/03/2017