ST. LOUIS _ Fifteen. Sixteen. Sophomores at Confluence Academy.
Tears fell from their eyes as they sat at a table with their parents, one after the other, in back-to-back juvenile detention hearings Thursday. It was the first time either of them had been to juvenile court, and they were there facing charges in the robbery and murder on Monday of a retired St. Louis police sergeant.
Judge Robin Ransom had tears in her eyes, too. Normally, when juveniles appear before her on their first offenses, she allows them to go home, she said, hoping the moment will serve as a wakeup call and set them straight.
"But in this case, it's too late," she said after the emotional hearings, each lasting about 20 minutes. She ordered the teens held in custody as their cases make their way through court. At some point, a judge will decide whether they will stand trial as adults.
The hearings took place a few hours before visitation began for retired police Sgt. Ralph E. Harper at a funeral home a few miles away. After a funeral Mass Friday morning at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, the 33-year veteran of the force will be buried at Resurrection Cemetery in South County.
Colleagues told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch he was a mentor, a jokester, a "teddy bear," but some you'd want there "when it hit the fan." He'd been retired since 2007.
On Monday, Harper, 67, was parking his car about 7:30 a.m. when he was approached by the 16-year-old, armed and intent on robbery, authorities said. Harper had his own gun and exchanged shots with the robber. It wasn't clear who fired first, but both were hit in the shootout.
The would-be robber ran to a waiting SUV _ stolen earlier this month _ which sped to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, authorities said. The shooter was dropped off to be treated for a gunshot wound to the wrist. The 15-year-old fled in the SUV, authorities said.
Meanwhile, a wounded Harper called 911. He was rushed to the same hospital, where he died about two hours after the shooting.
Officers later spotted the SUV, which fled from police until crashing into a building off Jefferson Avenue near Interstate 44. The 15-year-old and his 17-year-old brother were arrested there, though police say the older teen wasn't present for the shooting of Harper.
Officers found a .40-caliber gun inside the SUV after it crashed, and believe Harper was shot with a .40-caliber gun. Police also found blood inside the getaway car, a law enforcement source said.
The alleged shooter appeared before Judge Ransom on Thursday, his right arm wrapped and supported by a sling. The teen's mother, Wendy Washington, and father, John Garner, sat beside him. His mother said he played a vital role in his household, tending to his two younger siblings, and that his father lived just blocks away.
"He helps take care of his brothers," she said. "He feeds them and makes sure they do their homework before I get home from work."
She disputed accusations from prosecutors that he had dropped out of Confluence Academy on Oct. 1. She said she had documents to prove he had been suspended after being caught loitering in the halls too many times and was to return to school Tuesday _ the day after the shooting.
Minutes later, George and Marissa Woods entered the courtroom. Her son, 15-year-old Justin Mathews, sat next to them as the judge heard the prosecutors and defense attorneys argue whether he should be allowed to go home. Marissa Woods held her son's hand on the table where they sat.
The Post-Dispatch is not using the 16-year-old's name because he is a juvenile, but Woods has spoken publicly about her sons' alleged involvement in the crime. Her older son, Julian Mathews, 17, was charged Tuesday with second-degree motor vehicle tampering and resisting arrest. He remains in custody with a $30,000 cash-only bail. At 17, Julian Mathews is an adult under Missouri criminal law.
At Thursday's hearing for Justin, Defense attorney Sarah Johnson argued there was not enough probable cause to prove he was in the car when the shooting happened, that he knew the shooter planned to commit the crime or that he encouraged the shooter to do it.
But prosecutor Carolyn Whitehorn said Justin had admitted driving the getaway car as well as providing the gun to the alleged shooter, who had asked if he could borrow it because he was looking to rob someone.
Marissa Woods, 38, expressed sorrow for Harper's death. "I know, and my deepest condolences go out to his family, a life was taken ... a veteran police officer," Woods said.
She told the judge she believed her son needed to be at home, surrounded by family, while he waited for a judge to determine whether he should stand trial as an adult for his alleged crimes.
The judge told Justin's family that when it comes to serious accusations such as murder, juveniles aren't typically released before their certification hearings.
"I love you," Marissa Woods said as her son disappeared behind a door to the courtroom reserved for inmates. Stay strong, she told him.
"I will," he said, his voice cracking.
Later, Ransom removed her glasses, set them on her bench and grabbed a box of tissues from her desk. She wiped tears from her own eyes.
"I have a son who is 18," the judge said after the hearings. "Most of the kids that come through here remind me of my kid, and I can't imagine being in the position of either family involved in something like this, the family of the juvenile or the victim's family. It's really tough to preside over these kids who have their whole lives in front of them. The community is suffering because of this."
"We know that kids make impulsive decisions," she added. "It just seems like today, it's ramped up. It used to be that the main crime was car theft, and now we have very heinous offenses, and I just don't know how to fix it."
