COOPER CITY, Fla. – A 14-year-old boy who is accused of shooting his friend at his Cooper City home last month will remain in a juvenile detention center after a judge denied a motion Friday to release him into his parents' custody.
Broward County Judge Elijah Williams said the teen would remain in custody until the state determines whether he will be charged as an adult.
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The suspect's attorney, Michael Entin, asked Williams to release his client, because the shooting was an accident and the teen has been taunted, punched and slapped by other juveniles in the detention center where he is being held.
He also said that the boy has expressed his remorse and guilty over his best friend's death and said the boy's family wants to get him the proper counseling to deal with his emotional distress.
Charlie Martin, 14, was found dead July 30 inside the garage of the suspect's home at 10000 NW 41 St.
Detectives said the suspect found his stepfather's handgun inside a gun box in the garage of their home and accidentally shot Charlie while he was playing with it.
The suspect, Charlie and Charlie's brother, Francisco Martin, 16, were hanging out at the home with no adults present, deputies said.
According to the report, the suspect told detectives that each teen took turns firing the gun, which he believed wasn't loaded.
The teen said he was the last to discharge the weapon, shooting Charlie in the head, detectives said.
During questioning, the teen told detectives that his stepfather, Roland Toulon, had showed him the gun before and told him not to touch it, the report said.
Prosecutors are considering whether Toulon should face a third-degree felony charge of culpable negligence for leaving his gun unsecured.
Investigators determined that the magazine was loaded with 14 rounds and had one live round in the chamber. An empty magazine was found on the ground in the garage.
The suspect, whose identity is not being released due to his age, attends Franklin Academy where he plays on the school's football team.
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