TEXARKANA, Texas - A 16-year-old was certified to stand trial as an adult Wednesday in a capital murder case connected to a shooting in December at a local apartment complex parking lot.
County Court at Law Judge Craig Henry ordered Antonio Grigsby Jr., 16, moved from a juvenile detention facility in Harrison County to the Bowie County jail and set his bail at $1 million. Grigsby and his co-defendant, 20-year-old Christopher Cross, are accused in the Dec. 22 shooting of Amilleon Jackson.
Henry heard testimony Wednesday from law enforcement, juvenile probation, a detention center administrator, a clinical psychologist, a school administrator and Grigsby's mother before ruling the case warrants transfer to the adult criminal justice system.
Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson is representing Grigsby. Assistant District Attorney Bradley Akins questioned witnesses on behalf of the state.
At the end of the hearing, Henry summed up the factors which led to his ruling.
Henry noted that investigators believe Grigsby shot Jackson five times in the back as he attempted to run away and that he texted his girlfriend afterward to say, "I popped him five times."
Henry said the facts presented indicate Grigsby had been planning to rob Jackson of his marijuana for some time and that he arranged for a ride from Cross to the apartment where Jackson lived.
As Henry spoke, Grigsby, who appeared in a square on a Zoom video conference, appeared to make gestures of some kind as he sat and then appeared to occupy himself by braiding pieces of hair near the top of his face.
Henry continued by reciting Grigsby's history of law-breaking behavior. Henry said that Grigsby threw a boy's phone in the street and broke it after fighting with him when Grigsby was 12. He later sat in front of the boy's home with a "long gun" which was interepreted by the other boy's grandmother as retaliation for filing charges over the destroyed device.
More recently Grigsby allegedly choked his mother when she chided him for not picking up the front yard. His mother declined to follow through with the charges. While being supervised by juvenile probation authorities Grigsby repeatedly submitted to drug testing which showed he was using marijuana.
In June of last year Grigsby allegedly kicked in his mother's door and in July he allegedly broke a window in her home. Henry also mentioned an incident where Grigsby stole someone's dog and sold and mentioned that Grigsby has been accused of stealing a cell phone.
While a freshman at Liberty Eylau High School, Grigsby was repeatedly disciplined for misconduct, Assistant Principal Mary Beth Womack testified. Grigsby had 43 unexcused absences, more than 20 tardies and was placed six times in an alternative campus setting because of misconduct.
Henry noted that Grigsby has been written up for disciplinary problems 26 times while in juvenile detention and has allegedly expressed thoughts of "strangling" other people.
Cross' lawyer, Mark Lesher of Mount Pleasant, Texas, e-filed a not guilty plea on Cross' behalf Monday to a charge of capital murder. He was indicted earlier this year by a Bowie County grand jury. At Grigsby's hearing, Bradley said he expects Grigsby's case will be presented to a grand jury later this month.
Capital murder is typically punishable by death or life without the possibility of parole. While that is the possible punishment Cross faces if found guilty, Grigsby, who was 15 at the time of the alleged offense, is ineligible for the death penalty under state and federal laws because of his age. Grigsby could be sentenced to life with parole possible after 40 years if convicted.