Derrick Deangelo Catchings, age 16, has been certified to stand trial as an adult in the murder of 13-year-old Rayjon Gomez. This blog previously reported on the grand jury indictment, which contained some nuggets of information but not the name of the accused. But with Catchings now certified to stand trial as an adult, his name has been released to media, including Johnny Northside Dot Com. The mainstream media have already barfed up the press release for the consumption of the public. It is up to this blog to dig deeper.
Off With Their Heads
The timing of this announcement by the Hennepin County Prosecutor shows exquisite political instincts. Shock and outrage is at an all-time-high immediately following the murder of Nizzel George, age 5, innocently sleeping on his grandmother's "big green couch."
So certifying 16-year-old Derrick D. Catchings (who was 15 at the time of the Gomez murder) to stand trial in the killing of a 13-year-old wannabe gang member might not have been a popular move prior to June 26. But the death of Nizzel George changes the political climate.
Charge them! the voting demographic cries. Get the gun-toting baby killers off the streets FOREVER, even if they are little more than children themselves. This blog agrees with these sentiments, but it would be more cost-effective to applaud social workers removing children from dysfunctional homes rather than prosecutors cleaning up legal details after children are dead and buried.
A Sibling Crime Spree By Catchings And Brother Henderson (Allegedly)
Within a short time after Catchings' name was released, my ever-vigilant reader base began digging up info and posting it in comments. Turns out Catchings and his (reported) brother, Pierre Tyshaun Henderson, were involved (reportedly) in a vicious and violent incident in a hotel room in Spring Lake Park, click here.
The incident happened in August of 2011 and resulted in...
