Man Charged In Shooting Death Of 10-Year-Old Boy At Pleasantville High School Football Game Will Remain Jailed
MAYS LANDING, N.J. (CBS) - The man charged with murder in the shooting death of a 10-year-old boy will remain jailed after facing a judge in South Jersey on Wednesday. Alleged gunman Alvin Wyatt, as well as two of the four men who led police on a chase after the deadly shooting at a Pleasantville High School football game, all had detention hearings this morning.
Wyatt was first in court. He's charged with murder for allegedly causing the death of 10-year-old Micah Tennant.
Authorities say some of Wyatt's associates were at the Camden-Pleasantville playoff football game on Nov. 15, when they spotted a local rival named Ibn Abdullah.
Court records say they used Facetime to show Wyatt where Abdullah was located in the football stands.
In the third quarter of the game, police say Wyatt opened fire, hitting Abdullah and two innocent bystanders. A 15-year-old was grazed by a bullet and Micah was shot through the neck. He died in the hospital a few days later.
Seth Levy, the chief assistant Atlantic County prosecutor, says Wyatt showed no regard for who he fired at that night.
"The defendant decided he was going to take his gun, point it at these crowded stands, regardless of who might be there, and fired away. Of course, as would happen when you fire a loaded handgun into stands, innocent people were injured and ultimately a 10-year-old was killed," Levy said. "I can't imagine any more disregard for the safety of the public in general. I can't imagine any greater threat to the public than someone who is willing to fire into the stands."
Also in court were 27-year-old Michael Mack and 28-year-old Tyrell Dorn. Police say they had roles in fleeing the shooting scene and throwing a gun out of a window while leading police on a chase into Atlantic City. They were also denied release.
Their lawyers, though, say the men had nothing to do with the shootings. While their clients' cases are separate, Dorn's attorney Michael Schreiber thinks it will be hard for them to get a fair trial.
"Because my client is being grouped in with the child's death, there's going to be overspill on that," Schreiber said.
Micah's uncle, Anthony McQueen, says the holidays won't be the same without his family's shining star. McQueen says Micah wanted to be a DJ, just like him.
Micah's nickname was DJ Dew, and if not for this tragedy, he would have been providing the music for Thanksgiving.
"I mean, I liked it, we all have a passion for music. We have rappers in our family and me and Dew were the two DJs to handle all the music during the holidays and that's what hurts the most," McQueen said. "But we're a strong, praying family, so we all stick together at the end of the day."
Micah's funeral is scheduled for Saturday.
