Juvies accused of attempted murder waive hearing

Two teenagers charged as adults with attempted murder and related crimes for allegedly shooting another person in September have waived their preliminary hearings in exchange for an eventual transfer of their cases to juvenile court.

Marvin Edwards, Darby, and Semaj Chandler, Philadelphia, both 17, are also charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, receiving stolen property, conspiracy and firearms offenses for the September 5 shooting along the CSX train tracks in Darby.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Sweeney said Thursday during a pair of brief hearings before Magisterial District Judge Lee Cullen Grimes that both defendants outright waived all charges as a “good faith” offer for possible decertification, which would reinstate their case rejected. to the juvenile court.

Nothing was promised by the Commonwealth, Edwards’ attorney Luke Mercurio noted, but the waiver was a “good step” forward in the process.

According to information previously provided by Darby police:

A report of shots fired in the area of ​​North Fifth Street and Darby Terrace/Greenway Avenue came into the station around 10 a.m. thanks to a monitoring technology called ShotSpotter, which notifies police of gunshots in real time, allowing for a faster response.

Responding officers learned that three shots had been fired at a victim along railroad tracks in the area and that two black males had walked away from the scene toward North Third Street.

Police converged on the area and saw two men matching the description running from North Third to Darby Terrace. Officers chased the youths and arrested them.

Police recovered a firearm from one suspect that was determined to be stolen, Darby Police Chief Joe Gabe said at the time.

Edwards and Chandler, represented by William Weiss, were preliminarily arraigned by Magisterial District Judge George B. Dawson, who set bail at $500,000 cash. They have been in custody ever since.

The attorneys indicated that the boys should undergo evaluations to determine their risk of recidivism and their susceptibility to supervision in the juvenile system.

Both will be formally arraigned at the County Courthouse in Media on December 4.

Daily Times reporter Pete Bannan contributed to this story.