TERRELL, Texas — A teenager arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of a classmate has been certified to stand trial as an adult — this after a hearing before Kaufman County Court at Law Judge Tracy Gray on Monday.
TERRELL, Texas — A teenager arrested and charged with murder in the shooting death of a classmate has been certified to stand trial as an adult — this after a hearing before Kaufman County Court at Law Judge Tracy Gray on Monday.
On August Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at approximately 8:12 a.m., the Terrell Police Department and other emergency services responded to the intersection of Trailview Drive and Town North Drive for a reported shooting.
There, police discovered 17-year-old Damaria Jackson suffering multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Presbyterian Hospital in Kaufman, Texas, where he was pronounced deceased.
16-year-old Derrick Coleman Jr., who is only now being identified due to his certification to stand trial as an adult, was arrested and charged with murder in the case. He had been detained at a juvenile detention facility prior to Monday's hearing.
According to evidence presented by the Kaufman County Criminal District Attorney's Office in Monday's hearing, Coleman had been or felt threatened by another student at school and was removed from attending the campus by his mother. Though he wasn't attending the school anymore, Coleman allegedly took the school bus to the Terrell High School campus on the morning of the shooting, armed with a gun.
Once at campus, prosecutors alleged Coleman exited the bus and began walking towards the route traveled by Jackson on his way to school where a confrontation ensued. There, prosecutors say Coleman shot Jackson three times.
Following arguments from both the defense and the State, Judge Gray ruled Coleman would stand trial as an adult in the case. He was remanded into the custody of the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office and transferred to the Kaufman County Jail.
Judge Gray set Coleman's bond at $1.2 million.
If convicted, Coleman faces a maximum of 40 years in prison — the maximum for a teen under the age of 17-years-old, despite his certification as an adult.