Brandon was scheduled to appear for arraignment before a Butler County Juvenile Court magistrate on May 24, but Judge Ronald Craft has granted a motion filed by her attorneys, Chris Pagan and Melynda Cook Howard, moving her appearance to July 16, according to Rob Clevenger, court administrator.
Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser made the decision to keep Brandon’s case in juvenile court for the fatal crash.
Kaylie Jackson, 17, was a back-seat passenger at the time of the accident, police said. She died just a few days after the crash.
If convicted, Brandon could be sentenced to the Juvenile Detention Center in Columbus until her 21st birthday, according to Gmoser.
The decision was made to keep charges against Brandon in the juvenile court system because an investigation revealed “no intentional conduct” to raise the severity of the charges, according to Gmoser.
Brandon, as well as two other passengers — Tanner Allford, 17, and Mitchell Foster Jr., 18 — survived the crash.
Text messages about “possible speed and reckless driving” were sent just prior to the crash, according to court documents obtained by the Journal-News.
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