Trial set in Leesburg drive-by shooting case

0

HILLSBORO — A trial date has been set for a juvenile accused of being involved in an apparent drive-by shooting in Leesburg last month.

The 17-year-old, one of two juveniles charged in the incident, will appear in Highland County Juvenile Court for a trial at 8 a.m. Thursday, May 31, according to a court spokesperson.

The other juvenile, also 17, will appear in court Monday for a pre-trial hearing at 10:30 a.m.

Both juveniles were charged last month with improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation and felonious assault, both second-degree felonies, after police say shots were fired at a Leesburg residence as a car drove by.

Meanwhile, a Jeffersonville man also charged in the case remains incarcerated, and his case will be considered by a grand jury.

As previously reported, Drew Harrop, 18, was charged with improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation; improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, a fourth-degree felony; and two counts of contributing to the unruliness or delinquency of a child, a first-degree misdemeanor.

Harrop was also charged with drug abuse, a first-degree misdemeanor, after authorities found what appeared to be prescription drugs in the vehicle, according to a law enforcement affidavit.

Harrop’s charges were dismissed last month to be bound over to a grand jury.

All three males were arrested and charged after police say the group drove by a Brown Street residence in Leesburg on Feb. 17 and opened fire with a pistol.

Authorities say Harrop admitted to pulling the trigger after he was “talked into it” by one of the juveniles.

According to a complaint filed in the case, law enforcement first responded to the area after receiving reports of shots being fired at the residence. On arrival, authorities found Harrop and the two juveniles in a vehicle stuck in a ditch, where they had been blocked in by a nearby resident, according to the affidavit.

Officers located a firearm about 10 feet from the vehicle, as well as a holster on the driver’s side floor of the car, according to the complaint.

Harrop initially told police that one of the juveniles had given him the gun, but later said he could not remember who gave it to him, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, the juveniles had been involved in an ongoing feud with a resident of the Brown Street home.

Approximately six shots were fired in the incident, according to the complaint, and at least one bullet entered a residence. Two vehicles also sustained damage, the complaint said.

There were no reported injuries.

After the incident, an apparent confrontation between a nearby resident and the suspects resulted in the suspect vehicle getting stuck in a ditch by the side of the road, the affidavit said, and the resident stayed with Harrop and the juveniles until law enforcement arrived.

Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570, or on Twitter @DavidWrighter.

Harrop
http://www.wnewsj.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2018/03/web1_f-drew-harrop.jpgHarrop
Juveniles’ cases pending; grand jury gets Harrop’s charges

By David Wright

The Times-Gazette

AIM Media Midwest News Network

No posts to display