Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

Myrtle Beach teen to be prosecuted as adult

A Myrtle Beach 15-year-old will be prosecuted as an adult in a July armed robbery.

Jamal Marquis Daniels is charged with armed robbery in connection with a July 7 incident in which a man was robbed on his front porch on Ramsey Drive. His bail is set at $20,000.

Daniels was ordered Tuesday to wear a GPS device, not to have contact with the victim and not to go to Ramsey Drive if he posts bail, said Judge Clifford Welsh in Myrtle Beach Municipal Court.

Daniels also is facing a firearms possession charge in Horry County family court, prosecutors said.

Daniels has been in custody since his arrest on July 23, officials said.

City prosecutor Mike Smith told Welsh that Daniels pointed a 9-mm handgun in the victim's face and then cocked the gun. Smith said Daniels targeted the victim because he was Hispanic.

"He had the gun and stuck it in the guy's face," Welsh said. "That gives me a great deal of concern."

Defense attorney William Diggs told Welsh that Daniels removed the ammunition from the handgun before the incident.

Daniels had no prior criminal record, Diggs said.

"The other defendants provided him with the gun, provided him with the car and provided him with the victim," Diggs told Welsh. "He's not a member of a gang."

Three other suspects remain jailed in connection with the case. Emmanuel Louis Ingram, 18, Michael Lindsey Ingram, 20, and Timothy Phillip Ingram, 17, are charged with armed robbery and an unlawful weapon.

The victim told police he was working in the front yard of his home on Ramsey Lane when one of the suspects came up from behind him and pointed a gun at his face and told him to sit on his porch.

The suspect demanded money and the victim gave him $120, an incident report shows.

The victim told officers he found his assailants fueling their vehicle at a gas station and called police.

Three of the suspects were arrested at Yaupon Lane and Eighth Avenue South, the report shows. Officers reported they found a handgun and ammunition in the vehicle.

Daniels was arrested July 23, prosecutors said.