Two teens who prosecutors say were involved in the killing of a Batavia man during a robbery will stand trial as adults, prosecutors said.
Nolan Wright, 18, and Caythen Grundy, 17, were indicted Aug. 4 in Clermont County Common Pleas Court on charges including aggravated murder and aggravated robbery. Prosecutors say they were involved in the fatal shooting in March of 19-year-old Jayden Nelson near New Richmond.
A third suspect, 19-year-old Dakarai Campbell, was previously indicted on similar charges in connection with the killing.
Wright and Grundy were initially charged in Clermont County Juvenile Court. In May, a judge granted a motion by prosecutors to transfer their cases to adult court. If convicted, Wright and Grundy face possible life
sentences, according to a news release from the Clermont County Prosecutor's Office.
On March 8, law enforcement officers responded to a report of a possible fatal hit-and-run on Bethel-New Richmond Road, east of U.S. 52 around 4 a.m. When they found Nelson's body on the roadway, officers noted "irregularities" that did not align with a hit-and-run, according to the news release.
An autopsy determined that the actual cause of death was a gunshot to the head.
According to prosecutors, Wright, Grundy and Campbell traveled to New Richmond to sell thousands of dollars' worth of marijuana to Nelson. Instead of a sale, the trio robbed Nelson of more than $3,000 and his cellphone. Then they left him for dead, prosecutors said.
Prosecutor Mark Tekulve said in a statement that an investigation found the crime was tied to a drug operation involving several other people. He did not provide additional details on the alleged extent of that operation.
Tekulve's office could not be reached for comment after 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 4. The attorneys for Wright and Grundy were not listed in court records.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Teens in Clermont County robbery-killing face charges in adult court
