Prosecution seeking to move case to adult court for teen suspect of February homicide
Feb. 28—The 16-year-old arrested in connection to the Feb. 15 shooting death of Opoka James Bot Lob Nathanael, 27, will have a March 7 hearing regarding the possibility of being charged as an adult.
The Mower County Attorney's Office is seeking an adult certification in the shooting, in which the teen has been charged with one count of second degree murder with intent and one charge of second degree attempted murder.
The shooting took place at around 1:35 p.m. on Feb. 15 when officers were dispatched to the area of Fifth Avenue NW and 11th Street NW. According to the court complaint, responding officers arrived and found Nathanael in the front seat of a black Chevrolet Traverse. He was pronounced dead a short while later.
A second person in the vehicle had also been shot twice and was taken to Mayo Clinic Health System-Austin in a private vehicle before being flown to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester.
At the scene, officers discovered footprints in the snow leaving the vehicle and later learned that a third person in the vehicle had fled the scene. A witness also told police that they had heard gunshots and observed a black male exit the back passenger seat and run to the east.
Two other witnesses described the suspect moving fast to the north on Eighth Street in the 600 block before ducking behind a garage.
Officers were able to track the teen to a residence in the 700 block of Fifth Street NW. A teen witness at the home allegedly heard the suspect having a heated phone conversation before the shooting and that the suspect left the residence for a short amount of time.
A pair of white Nike shoes were discovered at the home bearing the same tread marks as footprints found leaving the scene. The juvenile was taken into custody, but declined talking to officers.
An autopsy determined that Nathanael had been shot seven times in the back.
In an interview with the second victim, the male described picking up the victim and said that while he didn't know the teen, Nathanael did. He also said there was no warning that the teen would start shooting before hearing multiple gunshots.
He also said that he was not aware of any feud between the two, but believed him to be the target as he was shot first.
The complaint goes on to say that obtained video from shortly before the shooting appeared to show the vehicle pull up to the teen's house on Fifth Avenue NW. It allegedly shows Nathanael walk up to the house and return two minutes later. The teen then walks up to the vehicle and gets into the back seat of the vehicle.
The video was taken just six blocks away from where the shooting took place.
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