Grand jury indicts Serna on 13 charges

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A Champaign County grand jury indicted Ely R. Serna on 13 charges Tuesday.

Serna, 17, was indicted on two counts of attempted murder, three counts of felonious assault, six counts of improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or a school safety zone, and one count each of inducing panic and illegal conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordnance in a school safety zone.

The charges stem from a Jan. 20 shooting at West Liberty-Salem High School.

Eleven of the 13 charges also carry one-year and three-year firearm specifications, a school safety zone specification and specification for forfeiture of property.

The inducing panic and conveyance of a deadly weapon charges also have one-year and three-year firearm specifications and a specification for forfeiture of property.

The grand jury indictment comes one day after Champaign County Juvenile Court Judge Lori Reisinger ordered that Serna’s case be transferred to the Champaign County Common Pleas Court general division for criminal prosecution as an adult.

Following a competency hearing on May 5, the court found Serna to be competent to stand trial on May 19.

Bond for Serna was established at $1 million during a hearing earlier this month.

Two people were injured in the shooting, including West Liberty-Salem High School student Logan Cole, who is recovering after many months of medical procedures and rehabilitation. The WL-S community has rallied to help heal the victims of the shooting as well as students emotionally traumatized by the incident. The Cole family has assisted the WL-S efforts through fundraising and has benefited from fundraising assistance since the shooting.

An arraignment hearing for Serna before Champaign County Common Pleas Judge Nick Selvaggio is scheduled for Thursday.

Serna
https://www.urbanacitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2017/06/web1_Serna-4.jpgSerna
Hearing scheduled for Thursday

Staff report

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