Court status for accused teen still not determined

A decision on whether to charge a Fort Wayne, Ind., girl in adult court in connection with a local teenager’s November death apparently has yet to be made.

Ramona Schroeder, Hanson County court clerk, said she has not created an adult-court file for the girl, 15. Jim Davies, Hanson County state’s attorney, would not comment when asked if he has made the transfer request to a judge, saying the case was still in juvenile court.

“All juvenile cases remain juvenile until the judge issues an order otherwise,” he said.

The girl, only identified as M.D. in court papers, has been arrested. Alexander Salgado, who turns 21 Sunday and also is from Fort Wayne, was indicted on three felony charges — including first-degree murder — in the Nov. 10 death of Jasmine Guevara, 16.

Davies said last month that if the evidence shows M.D. should be tried as an adult, he will request a hearing before a judge to transfer the case to adult court. The hearing would occur in juvenile court.

 Davies said at that time he could not estimate how long the process will take because he was still waiting on final reports from investigators. Timing also is dependent on the schedules of attorneys and Judge Sean O’Brien.

Though a May trial date has been set for Salgado, Davies and Assistant Attorney General Doug Barnett have yet to determine whether to seek the death penalty in the case.

No information is known about when a funeral for Guevara might take place.

George Bittner, who is the coroner for both Hanson and Davison counties, said he has yet to be informed that Guevara’s remains have been released to the family.

However, Bittner has been told by investigators and prosecutors that the case is still under investigation.

Tags: ramona schroeder, jim davies, alexander salgado, jasmine guevara, news