No charges for adult arrested in Modesto shooting, unclear if teenage boys arrested have been charged

Prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against Marcus White, one of three people arrested last week on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in connection with a June 12 west Modesto shooting.

Detectives served multiple search warrants June 27 and arrested White, 19, and two 17-year-old boys in a drive-by shooting that killed Terelle Swearengin, 25, of Sacramento, and injured a 22-year-old man. Modesto police did not release the boys’ names or their booking photos because they are minors.

Swearengin was walking with three other men along the 800 block of Sutter Avenue shortly before 4:30 p.m., when someone in a vehicle shot at them, according to police. Swearengin died at a local hospital shortly after the shooting.

It’s unclear, however, whether prosecutors have filed criminal charges against the two 17-year-old boys. Proposition 57, a state ballot measure approved by voters in November, means a judge has to decide whether a minor can be prosecuted as an adult.

If prosecutors have filed charges against the 17-year-old boys in the west Modesto shooting, the case would remain confidential up to, and until, a juvenile court judge decides the boys can be prosecuted as adults, said John Goold, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

Before Proposition 57, prosecutors could decide whether to prosecute a minor as an adult in homicides or other serious criminal cases. The ballot measure also increased parole and good behavior opportunities for nonviolent adult offenders. Defendants who were minors at the time of the crime have appealed their cases in hopes of reducing their sentences.

Goold said juvenile court cases have always been confidential, and prosecutors cannot publicly discuss any related hearings or charges. “We won’t release any information on a potential juvenile court case,” Goold said Wednesday.

Juvenile court judges deciding whether a minor can be prosecuted as an adult must consider the seriousness of the offense and its impact on the victim or the victim’s family, the suspect’s criminal history and past attempts at rehabilitation.

White, who was not charged in last month’s deadly shooting, remains in custody at the county jail. He has been charged with violating probation stemming from a March 3 felony conviction for possessing stolen property. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

This story was originally published July 5, 2017 at 4:33 PM with the headline "No charges for adult arrested in Modesto shooting, unclear if teenage boys arrested have been charged."