Update: Alleged Killer Can’t Be Tried As An Adult Under California Law

A juvenile charged in a North Redding murder cannot be tried as an adult. Because of Proposition 57, a 15-year-old can’t be prosecuted as an adult regardless of the seriousness of the crime. There was a detention hearing in juvenile court Thursday for the alleged killer of 55-year-old John Louis Douglas, whose body was found by a security guard Monday morning on a discarded sofa behind the Dollar Tree off Lake Boulevard at North Market Street. He had suffered severe trauma to his face and head. Surveillance footage showed him being beaten with a baseball bat, allegedly by the 15-year-old boy. Another provision of Prop 57 is that if the boy is convicted he can only be held until the age of 25.

-Steve Gibson