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Teen to be tried as adult in Columbia mall stabbing

Howard County (Map, News) - A Forestville 16-year-old accused of a stabbing outside the Mall in Columbia will be tried as an adult on attempted murder charges, a judge ruled Friday.

Retired Howard Circuit Judge Raymond Kane Jr. denied Cordero Taylor’s attorneys’ request that he be tried in juvenile court because of his youth, citing Taylor’s past juvenile record and the seriousness of the crime.

“He’s not done well under juvenile supervision, and it seems to me that his lack of success in the past doesn’t bode well for his future,” Kane said.

Taylor faces up to life in prison if convicted of attempted first- and second-degree murder, whereas juvenile delinquents only can be placed in a juvenile detention center until the age of 21.

“The issue of public safety outweighs his age,” Kane said. “I don’t believe he’s amenable to treatment.”

Taylor’s trial is scheduled for June.

Defense attorneys Craig Gendler and Gabriel Terrasa declined comment.

Taylor is charged for his involvement in the Jan. 8 stabbing of Julian Lichtenstein, 17, in the mall’s parking lot before 4 p.m., according to charging documents.

Taylor has seven prior encounters with the juvenile system and was found involved — the juvenile equivalent of guilty — on charges of robbery and attempted armed robbery, Assistant State’s Attorney James Dietrich said in court.

Taylor was placed on probation in March 2007 for the armed robbery at a Chinese food restaurant, said Wayne Kirwan, spokesman for the state’s attorney’s office.

As a condition of his probation, Taylor was prohibited from having contact with Bernardo Leconte, 18, of Columbia, a second suspect charged in the January stabbing, Kirwan said.

Howard police caught Taylor and Leconte as they ran from the scene of the stabbing, and Leconte dropped a bloody knife, according to charging documents.

cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com


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6:54 AM MST on Mon., Apr. 28, 2008 re: "Teen to be tried as adult in Columbia mall stabbing"

Examiner Reader said:
If only we had comprehensive knife control like we have gun control in Maryland, then these poor innocent young men would not be turned into crazed violent felons....(sarcasm intended). Taylor never would have robbed a restaurant or stabbed someone if he couldn't get weapons. He'd never use a pipe, a bat, a chain or his fists and feet (like Robert Poole Middle School kids prefer). He is just an innocent young man that has been made this way by every other group besides the black community.

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