An argument that occurred via text messaging sparked a robbery and shooting in Orange Township last month, prosecutors said Wednesday at the arraignment for one of the alleged robbers.
Terrance D. Jewell II, 19, of Columbus, appeared in Delaware County Common Pleas Court Wednesday morning where he entered a not-guilty plea to charges of felonious assault, a first-degree felony; robbery, a second-degree felony; and theft, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Prosecutors said Jewell was part of a group that argued via text messages and phone calls with a group of Orange Township teenagers, and finally sought them out and attacked them in the area of Blue Holly Drive in Orange Township in the early morning hours of April 13.
Another 19-year-old in Jewell’s group, Isaiah Steele, pulled out a handgun and shot and wounded 19-year-old Pierce Yurkoski-Gray. Yurkoski-Gray has since been released from the hospital.
Assistant county prosecutor Amelia Bean-DeFlumer told Judge Everett Krueger that Jewell was part of the incident and pulled 19-year-old Marua Burlew out of her car before hitting her several times, causing several fractured bones. Bean-DeFlumer said Jewell took Burlew’s wallet after the assault.
Krueger continued Jewell’s $150,000 bail, set in Delaware Municipal Court, and scheduled a trial date of June 21.
Steele appeared in court on April 29 and entered a not-guilty plea to charges of felonious assault, a second-degree felony, which carries a firearm specification that could add additional prison time if Steele is convicted; improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation/in a school safety zone, a second-degree felony; receiving stolen property, a fourth-degree felony; and tampering with evidence, a third-degree felony.
Steele’s bail was set at $300,000 at his arraignment and he will also stand trial June 21.
A third suspect in the incident, Kayle Cantrell, will be arraigned Friday at 2 p.m. Cantrell is charged with robbery, a second-degree felony; and theft, a first-degree misdemeanor. Her bail was set at $50,000 in Delaware Municipal Court. Court documents allege that Cantrell assisted in the robbery by hitting and kicking another victim, 18-year-old Riley Smittle, and taking her iPhone 6.
A 17-year-old girl was also injured in the incident.
Steele, Jewell and Cantrell were in the Delaware County Jail Wednesday.
