JUVENILE TO BE TRIED AS ADULT IN FATAL WASHINGTON CO. SHOOTING
A juvenile arrested in connection to a fatal shooting in Washington County last March will be tried as an adult.
(Washington Co. Jail)
On Tuesday, Tru’Von Sweed of Navasota, who is now 17, was certified by Washington County Court at Law to be tried as an adult on the charges of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy to commit assault with a deadly weapon, and deadly conduct.
Sweed was arrested last April for his alleged involvement in a shooting in Old Washington on March 15, 2020, which resulted in the death of 20-year-old Derrick Anthony Davis, Jr. of Hempstead. Two others were wounded in the shooting.
At the end of Tuesday’s hearing, Sweed was taken into custody. According to the Washington County Attorney's Office, bond was set at $80,000, made up of $25,000 each for the murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges, and $10,000 each for the remaining charges.
The case was investigated by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Texas Rangers, and will now be handled by the Washington County District Attorney’s Office.
This is the second juvenile that has been certified to face charges as an adult in Washington County since 2016. J.B. Wright III was previously presented for certification on the charge of murder for the death of Trey Kurtz in October 2014. As an adult, Wright pleaded guilty to Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
He is already out of the washington co. jail
Glad someone is feeling the same way I feel Derrrick is my son a man is being held without no bond for attempted murder but they give a murder the cheapest bond I every seen that like spitting in my face he on the streets so I can see him that’s tartare I will not have a peace of mind until I know I don’t have to see his face never again all I have left from my only child is memories
Why is our district attorney’s office offering bond to a murder suspect?
His total bond comes up to $80,000. So, if his friends and family can scrape up $8,000, he will be back out to possibly do this again or go after the witnesses to the murder he has already “allegedly” committed.
This is the same thing the district attorneys are doing in the big cities. Look at how well it’s working for them.
AGREE with you Chad…. Bond way to low for a murder suspect…..
I don’t think DA’s set bonds, judges do. Right? Reckon you are barking up the wrong tree Chad.
From the announcement that our district attorney was seeking a third term, November 14th, 2019 on KWHI, it was related that “Renken believes that it is just as important to attempt rehabilitation for those new to the criminal justice system[…]”. Perhaps that’s an indicator of her reluctance or distaste for setting a higher bond for a murder suspect. You are exactly on target in regards to the larger cities’ problems with low bond for violent felony suspects; currently, the City of Houston has somewhere over 6,000 that have been released on bond, with some having been arrested for committing two murders. Over the last 6 months, there have been several instances of released suspects for one murder being bonded out and committing yet another. To me, the liability for that clearly falls upon the individual judge who set the bond, and it should be that they could be held to some degree of liability by any victim’s family.
Like Toddster said, Judges set bail not prosecutors. Judge Berg set bail since he’s a juvenile. The article says the DA has the case now since he was certified as an adult the other day, before then it would be the County Attorney.
Recalculate the charge amounts.