Teen driver wanted to ‘scare’ jogger but instead killed him in hit-and-run, WA cops say
Update: The teen has pleaded not guilty in juvenile court on Wednesday in Seattle, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Her next court appearanceis scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle.
Original story:
A 15-year-old is charged with murder after a hit-and-run crash left a jogger dead in July, Washington officials said.
Greg Moore, 53, was killed by a driver July 18 in Maple Valley while running alongside a road, the King County Sheriff’s Office said.
The identity of the driver was unknown until last week. The teenager turned herself in to authorities following the recovery of the vehicle she was driving when Moore was hit, according to the sheriff’s office.
King County prosecutors declined to charge her as an adult and she faces charges of second-degree murder and a felony hit-and-run in juvenile court, according to charging documents.
A witness who was a passenger told detectives the teen hit Moore on purpose while driving a vehicle that wasn’t hers, the documents state.
“I’m going to scare him. I’m going to bump him,” the witness recalled the teen saying as they approached Moore at a speed of about 50 mph, according to court documents.
Moore was jogging along the street without a sidewalk after 6 a.m. when he was struck, documents state.Then the teen is accused of driving off.
Deputies found his body in a ditch hours later near the roadside with signs of trauma to his head. They also found a piece of plastic that appeared to be a vehicle headlight.
Video surveillance footage caught a Toyota Camry followed by a second vehicle driving “recklessly” through an intersection near where Moore was hit, according to court documents.
On Sept. 7, a woman gave detectives at SeaTac police the key to her Toyota Camry and said she suspected the teen of committing the crime.Detectives matched the missing plastic piece they obtained from the crime scene with the vehicle.
“Maple Valley lost a beloved husband, father and friend far too soon,” King County Sheriff Mitzi G. Johanknecht said in a news release. “Nothing will bring Greg home, but I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the MARR detectives who have worked this case tirelessly since July.”
Moore’s wife pleaded with prosecutors to charge the teen as an adult, KING-TV reported.
“Greg and I got married in my parent’s backyard 30 years ago today. Instead of celebrating with him, I am here alone, alone in this world without my partner,” Michelle told the news outlet on Tuesday.
King County prosecutors, however, chose not to charge the teen as an adult because she’s underage and is not subject to “automatic adult court jurisdiction.”
A juvenile court judge could decide, though, to transfer the teen’s case to an adult court, according to an email from Casey McNerthney, spokesperson for the district attorney’s office,.
“15-year-olds accused of murder are presumed to be subject to juvenile court jurisdiction,” McNerthney said. “Even when juveniles are convicted as adults, Superior Court judges at sentencing can still follow the juvenile sentencing guidelines set by state lawmakers.”
McNerthey said that while a guilty verdict would not make up for the “senseless crime,” prosecutors “will do everything within our ability to hold this juvenile responsible for her actions and to support the family through the legal process.” /
Maple Valley is a town about 27 miles southeast of Seattle.
McClatchy News is not naming the teen because she is a minor.
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Teen driver wanted to ‘scare’ jogger but instead killed him in hit-and-run, WA cops say."
