HARTSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A Tennessee judge has set bond at $1 million for a 15-year-old accused in the shooting death of a Mount Juliet high school student.
The Tennessean reports Ethen Kain Vanderpool has pleaded not guilty to adult charges of criminal homicide. Police say 16-year-old JayShawn Taylor died in the November shooting and that the two teenagers knew each other.
The judge denied an attorney’s request to move Vanderpool into Department of Children’s Services custody and a youth development center.
Vanderpool’s case was moved to adult court in March, but his attorney says his current housing is similar to “solitary confinement” and a youth center could provide better education and counseling resources.
Vanderpool’s trial is scheduled for next May.