TEXARKANA, Ark. - A trial is ongoing in Miller County for a juvenile accused of shooting a convenience store clerk to death in 2017.
Because the accused was only 12 when he allegedly fired multiple rounds into 21-year-old Christa Shockley, the proceeding is closed and in-person media coverage prohibited.
Shockley was found dead on the floor of the EZ Mart in Fouke by a Texarkana Gazette news carrier in the early hours of Feb. 2, 2017. Her alleged killer was arrested just a few hours later at a Fouke public school.
Arkansas law does not allow for adult certification of juveniles as young as the boy accused of capital murder in Shockley's death, Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Potter Barrett said.
The law does provide for "Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction" in cases of extreme criminal misconduct by the very young. The designation allows for placement in a juvenile facility with the possibility of adult prison once the defendant reaches age 21.
Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson granted a request from prosecutors to designate Shockley's accused killer EJJ and last year the Arkansas Court of Appeals affirmed the EJJ designation.
If an EJJ-designated juvenile is adjudicated guilty, a judge may order that person to be held in a juvenile facility until age 18, Barrett said in a previous interview. Upon turning 18, EJJ offenders are routinely placed in a facility that houses only EJJ defendants age 18 to 21.
Sometime prior to an EJJ defendant's 21st birthday, a hearing to address future imprisonment must be conducted and a decision whether to move the offender to an adult prison at age 21 may result. The boy accused in Shockley's death faces 10 to 40 years or life in prison with parole possible, Barrett said.
Juvenile offenders sentenced to life are eligible for parole after serving 30 years but parole is not guaranteed. Ultimately the decision regarding the length of time an EJJ offender spends in adult prison could rest with the state's parole board, Barrett said.
The trial is expected to conclude this week.