A 17-year-old Lebanon resident, charged for his part in a May 2023 shooting that left three dead and another injured, will stand trial as an adult, Lebanon County Judge Charles T. Jones ruled yesterday.
James Fernandez-Reyes and his co-defendants – Ivan Claudio-Rosero, 29, and Alex Jadriel-Torres, 24 – face first-degree murder and related charges for the May 30, 2023, shooting deaths of 19-year-old Joshua Lugo-Perez, 9-year-old Sebastian Perez-Salome, and 8-year-old Jesus Perez-Salome.
The shootings took place on the back porch of an apartment building at 444 N. 5th St. in the city.
A fourth victim, 33-year-old Luis Cancel, was struck in his home next door when a round penetrated a wall. He survived.
Although he was a juvenile at the time of the killings, the Lebanon County District Attorney charged Fernandez-Reyes with first-degree murder in adult criminal court, as required by Pennsylvania law. His attorney, Assistant Public Defender Michael Light, had asked the court to transfer the case to juvenile court, arguing that Fernandez-Reyes was amenable to treatment and rehabilitation.
Pennsylvania law allows a juvenile charged with murder in adult court to be transferred to juvenile court if the child convinces a judge that he is “amenable to treatment, supervision or rehabilitation as a juvenile” based on a number of factors, including age, mental capacity, maturity, any previous criminal record, any previous juvenile history, and “whether the child can be rehabilitated prior to the expiration of the juvenile court jurisdiction.”
Juvenile court jurisdiction ends on a child’s 21st birthday.
Sept. 5 hearing
Judge Jones held a hearing on Sept. 5 to determine if Fernandez-Reyes should be tried in juvenile court, and heard testimony from two experts. Testimony at that hearing painted a picture of a troubled and incorrigible teenager.
A week before the Lebanon triple homicides, Fernandez-Reyes is alleged to have participated in the burglary of a Reading residence in which cash and firearms were stolen. Surveillance video and video on his own phone allegedly placed him in the residence.
Fernandez-Reyes moved to Rochester, New York, from his native Puerto Rico in 2019, showed signs of behavioral and learning disabilities and, according to testimony, joined street gangs. He is a person of interest in the shooting of a 12-year-old in Rochester, and has spent time there on juvenile probation.
Further testimony alleged that at one point Fernandez-Reyes’ family moved to South Dakota, where he was accused as a juvenile of auto theft. He was not prosecuted, but was asked by authorities to leave the state. He returned to Rochester, where he was accused of getting into additional criminal trouble.
In the month before the Lebanon triple homicides, he placed video on social media of him brandishing weapons, including an assault-style rifle resembling one used in the homicides.
Additional testimony on Sept. 5 showed that Fernandez-Reyes has been involved in fights in prison since his arrest for the Lebanon murders.
Jones also heard testimony from expert witnesses on Sept. 5. Clinical psychologist Frank Dattilio, testifying for the defense, said he had doubts whether there were any juvenile treatment programs that could rehabilitate Fernandez-Reyes before his 21st birthday. Psychiatrist Clarence Watson, called by the prosecution, agreed that his chances of rehabilitation by then were poor.
At the conclusion of the Sept. 5 hearing, Jones ordered the parties to file legal briefs. He announced his decision in open court on Sept. 16. Jones emphasized that Fernandez-Reyes has neither expressed remorse for his actions nor shown an understanding of their consequences in the more than one year that has passed.
What happens next?
District Atorney Pier Hess Graf has signaled her intent to try all three defendants at a single trial. She is seeking the death penalty against Torres-Santos, but not his co-defendants.
The earliest a trial is likely to start is January. However, trial could be delayed until spring, since court orders entered in April gave Torres-Santos and Claudio-Rosero until Jan. 31 to file pretrial motions, and Fernandez-Reyes will likely be given the same time to file.
Read More:
- (May 2023) City police investigate triple homicide
- (May 2023) Triple homicide in Lebanon city: Victims were 8, 9, 19; 33-year-old hospitalized
- (June 2023) Two arrested in triple murder of children and teenager; third suspect at large
- (June 2023) Details surface on Torres-Santos’ pre-homicide detention while on house arrest
- (June 2023) Affidavits of probable cause reveal how suspects were arrested for triple murder
- (June 2023) DA will seek death penalty against Alex Torres-Santos for Lebanon triple murder
- (October 2023) Preliminary hearings conclude, trial set for suspects in Lebanon triple homicide
- (September 2024) Trial for 5th Street triple murders could be delayed until next spring
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