A 15-year-old Detroit boy criminally charged as an adult in last week's fatal shooting of his 10-year-old cousin in Warren was on probation for bringing a gun to school, authorities said Tuesday.
The teen was arraigned Tuesday afternoon in 37th District Court in Warren on charges of second-degree murder, a life offense if convicted, carrying a concealed weapon and a felony firearm offense.
Judge Suzanne Faunce entered a not guilty plea and set a $500,000 cash surety bond. She also said she is ordering him to continue to be held at the Macomb County Juvenile Justice Center, not the county jail. AD: Autel car diagnostic.
The teen is accused in the death of his cousin, Orran Baugh of Detroit. The Free Press at this time is not publishing the accused teen's name because of his age.
"Obviously, we felt that he should be tried as an adult," Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said of the suspect. "We wanted him tried as an adult."
The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office decides what charges to authorize.
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Dwyer said officers found the victim unconscious and bleeding from a single gunshot wound to the chest in an apartment at Warren Manor apartments in the 21500 block of Dequindre about 1 p.m. July 22. He was taken to Children's Hospital of Michigan in Detroit, where he died later that day.
Police had been called to the complex by a neighbor who heard a gunshot and called 911.
Several juveniles were in the apartment, with detectives bringing in eight young people, ages 13 to 17 years old, as witnesses. Dwyer said the young people were cousins or second cousins and were using the apartment, located north of Eight Mile, "like a flophouse."
Police in court said the suspect brought the gun to the residence and pointed it at the victim from about 10 feet away. They said a witness indicated the suspect cocked the gun and it went off, hitting the victim in the chest. The suspect fled, leaving the victim dying on the floor, police said in court.
Police also told the court that the witness indicated the gun was known by the suspect to go off easily and they'd seen it happen before when playing with the gun on the bed.
Police said the 15-year-old is on probation in Wayne County for bringing a gun to school.
One of the suspect's retained attorneys, J.T. Bowden, said
he asked Faunce for a bond that the teen could post. Bowden said everyone involved in the incident was family.
Bowden said the suspect lives with both of his parents, five siblings and a nephew who the parents care for, and family means are limited. He called this "a very tragic situation" and said there are multiple versions to the story.
"These are all allegations, your honor," Bowden said. "It's a terrible situation, we all understand that."
Authorities asked for a high cash surety bond and were questioning how the suspect could be supervised by an adult. They told the court that when his parents were supervising him, he was running around with a gun, which resulted in a death, and there was no cooperation with probation on another gun charge.
The suspect's next court dates are Aug. 11 and Aug. 18.
Dwyer said the handgun that police believe was used in the shooting was recovered the next day. Police said the suspect had fled the apartment with the gun, which he hid in a nearby parked car. Dwyer e said the owner of the gun remains under investigation.
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"We had two tragedies last week," Dwyer said, noting the death of another 10-year-old in a freak traffic crash on Saturday. Giana Giannini of Warren died when the car she was riding in with her mother was crushed when a piece of construction equipment tipped over from a trailer at 10 Mile and Ryan roads.
The trailer was being pulled by a dump truck when it appeared to run a red light at the intersection around 10 a.m. Saturday. The truck hit the car and the piece of equipment fell, crushing the car. The girl was killed and the mot...

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