While most of their peers head back to school this week, seven Vicksburg teens could be formally charged with violent crimes, including homicide and armed robbery, as a Warren County Grand Jury is convened to review evidence in felony cases and issue indictments.

Three charged with a March shooting in a Vicksburg Housing Authority subdivision may face murder indictments, said District Attorney Ricky Smith.

Gemini Porter, 16, 2501 Culkin Road, Kersey Young, 17, 1115 Adams Lane, and Roosevelt Dewayne Harris, 17, 1803 First East St., are accused of shooting 25-year-old Antonio Turner while he was in a car parked on Alcorn Drive in the Rolling Acres subdivision around 1 a.m. March 15.

After he was shot, Turner was able to drive the car about 100 yards before it crashed into a nearby home. An autopsy revealed he died of two gunshot wounds to the back. Police said at the time they suspected the teens were trying to rob Turner, a charge which could have bumped the case up to capital murder and a possible death sentence.

“We anticipate presenting the case to the grand jury,” Smith said. “But based on the facts of the case and the age of the defendants, we are not going to go for capital murder.”

If tried and convicted of murder, the teens would receive a sentence of life in prison without parole.

Though less likely, Smith said, the grand jury could also review charges against four teens — including a star athlete — who were charged in May with a series of armed robberies of pedestrians that included pistol whippings and other assaults.

Sha’Kayla Caples, 18, 414 Ford Road, who was about to graduate and head to college on a basketball scholarship, was arrested May 13, along with Deshawn Williams, 17, 119-B Elizabeth Circle; Jacorey Wright, 16, 1405 Locust St.; and Blake Reed, 17, 2501 Culkin Road Apt. G8. Smith said he was not sure if their case would be ready to present to this week’s grand jury.

A murder indictment will also be sought against Adam Rader, 25, 103 Cross Drive. Rader is accused of shooting Danny Miller, 25, 107 Belva Drive, in an Easter Sunday altercation over a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey. Miller was shot once following the fight at a home in the 1400 block of Oakland Street, near Baldwin Ferry Road and Court Street.

Facing an indictment as accessory after the fact in Miller’s killing is Derrick Turner, 25, 401 Pleasant Valley Drive.

The murder and robbery cases are among about 90 the grand jury will consider, Smith said. Many are drug cases involving either sale or possession of controlled substances, along with aggravated assault, third-offense shoplifting and other felonies.

“There is always a good possibility of a secret indictment,” Smith added. A secret indictment is one in which the accused has not previously been arrested for the crime and is not aware that evidence has been collected and is being reviewed by the grand jury.

The grand jury was to be sworn in this morning by Circuit Judge Isadore Patrick, who will preside over this week’s session. Jurors were chosen from a pool of about 200 Warren County residents selected at random.

Grand jurors review evidence in felony cases, presented by Smith, assistant district attorneys Dewey Arthur and Angela Carpenter, along with law enforcement officials. If the jury decides there is sufficient evidence, suspects are indicted and arraigned — formally notified of the charges against them — and a trial date is set.

Grand jurors also tour the jail and issue a report with recommendations about judicial needs and facilities in the county.

This is the third of four Warren County grand jury session scheduled for 2009. The final one is set for Oct. 26 with Circuit Judge M. James Chaney presiding.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com