14-Year-Old Charged as an Adult in Shooting

WARREN COUNTY, Miss. – A 14-year-old has been charged as an adult for a shooting in the county.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace reports a 14-year-old will be charged as an adult for a shooting on Rancho Road. No one was injured in the shooting.

“Just before 10:30 on November the 20th, units responded to a shots fired call on Rancho Road. The 300 block of Rancho Road, which is off Highway 80,” said Pace. “Units arrived on the scene to find that a home had been shot into through the front door. There had also been shots fired inside the home that penetrated interior walls.”

The investigation led to the arrest of Juepharion Wesley, 14, who lives in the area.

According to Pace, Wesley had an argument with his girlfriend, who is also a minor. Wesley retrieved a handgun, “We’re still trying to locate the source of where that handgun came from.” The investigation revealed there was at least one shot into the residence from the outside. There were additional shots fired inside the residence that penetrated interior walls.

Wesley is being charged with shooting into an occupied dwelling and aggravated domestic violence with a firearm.

State law mandates

“By State statute, any violent felony involving a firearm by anybody 13 or older is automatically considered an adult. It’s not a decision that law enforcement makes. It’s a state statute,” explained Pace. “The only way this would be brought back down to youth court would be that a circuit court judge, which is the adult court, would have to order it to youth court.”

Wesley is housed in the Warren County Jail on a $50,000 bond. Persons who are charged with an adult offense but are under 18 are housed in a separate housing unit in the county jail from other inmates.