Six children, including a 9-year-old, have been charged in connection with the drowning death of their 15-year-old friend, Zahmere Greene. The teen's body was found last month floating in a retention pool, authorities said.
Six kids, including a 9-year-old, have been arrested and charged in connection with the drowning of their 15-year-old friend,whose body was found floating in a Georgia retention pond, police said.
One of the suspects, 17-year-old Shane Sono, will be tried as an adult, the Columbia Police Department said in a statement last week. The teen has been released on $1,500 bail, according to online jail records for the Muscogee County Sheriff's Department.
A judge has remanded the case to Muscogee County Superior Court, where as of Monday, prosecutors had not formally charged the 17-year-old with concealing the death of another, according to the clerk's office.
According to Columbia police, the ages of the other suspects and the juvenile charges against them are:
- Child, 11, involuntary manslaughter, concealing the death of another;
- Child, 11, concealing the death of another;
- Child, 11, concealing the death of another;
- Child, 9, concealing the death of another;
- Child, 12, concealing the death of another.
The 11-year-old charged with manslaughter is being held at the Regional Youth Detention Center, police said.
The youngsters allegedly witnessed the drowning of teen Zahmere Greene, 15, on May 23 as the group was swimming in a retention pond near the Chattahoochee River, police said.
But Greene's death was not reported for several days, authorities said.
"It’s tragic all the way across the board," said Columbus Police Deputy Chief Lance Deaton in a statement. "You know, a family lost a 15-year-old son and you’ve got an 11-year-old who is now charged with involuntary manslaughter and will have to answer for those charges and that family is having to deal with that as well, he added. "So, it is absolutely a tragedy, but we have to remember somebody died in this."
No further information has been released by authorities. Because they are being charged as juveniles,court records are not public for the five youngest suspects.
