Charges added in killing
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson says the lives of two 17-year-olds charged with murder are “ruined.”
That’s because he plans to get the harshest sentence he can for both of them.
“We plan to send a very strong message,” he said. “This particular murder case really alarmed the public because these are young folks in high school killing people.”
To send that message, Jackson said the district attorney’s office is charging the two youths, Issac Oliver and Jesse Brown for two counts of murder each: capital murder and murder for killing Charles Brown, a 20-year-old Selma man.
They were both indicted during a Grand Jury hearing yesterday.
Originally, both youths were charged with capital murder only.
Jackson said the second murder charge was added, “to make sure those two got off the street.”
“They can’t weasel out of anything,” Jackson said.
Oliver and Brown were both charged with killing Charles Brown on the Highway 80 Bypass.
Oliver was implicated as the actual shooter, police said. Brown-who is not related to the victim-was reportedly driving the car.
Charles Brown was in town visiting friends and family when he was killed, at about 3 a.m. on March 20.
Charles’ mother, Hattie Brown Hale, said she believes her son was shot by mistake and the shooters were trying to kill someone else in the car.
Oliver was shot in front of SelTherapy, a local teen nightclub, on March 5.
Jonathan Blevins, a 17-year-old Southside High School student, was arrested and charged with shooting Oliver. Blevins, according to his mother, knew the victim of the March 20 killing.
The additional murder charge means that Oliver and Brown could receive a minimum of 20 years in prison. If convicted of capital murder, the youths could receive life without parole in prison.
Capital murder, according to the district attorney, usually has extenuating circumstances, like premeditation.
In this particular case, because investigators believe the suspects shot from a vehicle, it is considered capital murder.
Capital murder usually carries the threat of execution as a sentence, but a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling doesn’t allow the execution of defendants who were minors when they were found guilty of committing a crime.
Jackson said both suspects will appear in District Court within the next few months for their first pre-trial hearing.
He said that the case requires several pre-trial hearings before the actual trial occurs, because of the heavy charges.
Throughout it, Jackson said his office is seeking a big sentence for the suspects.
“They ruined the victim’s family’s lives; they ruined their own lives,” he said.