Suspects in killing baby in stroller face first court hearings

Monday, March 25, 2013

photo This photo provided by the Glynn County Detention Center shows De'Marquise Elkins, 17, one of two teenagers arrested and accused of fatally shooting a 13-month-old baby in the face and wounding his mother in Brunswick, Ga.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. - One suspect in the shooting death of a baby who was killed in his stroller has made his first court appearance, and a second suspect faces a court hearing later.

A 14-year-old boy who faces a murder charge appeared in court today morning in the death of 13-month-old Antonio Santiago in Brunswick. The baby was killed Thursday as his mother walked him on a Brunswick street.

The 14-year-old came into the courtroom shackled and wearing a baggy orange jumpsuit, The Florida Times-Union reported.

He glanced at the few members of the media allowed into the courtroom for the initial appearance as he shuffled to a lectern facing Glynn County Magistrate Tim Barton.

The magistrate told the boy he can't set a bond since only Superior Court judges can do so in murder cases,

"I'm going to see that you get a lawyer immediately," Barton told the boy.

A second suspect, 17-year-old De'Marquise Elkins, is scheduled to be in court at 2 p.m. today, WJXT-TV reported. Elkins also faces a murder charge. His family says he did not shoot the baby.

The baby's mother, Sherry West, said she was walking home Thursday morning when two boys confronted her and one of them opened fire. Police say she was shot in the leg, and her baby was shot in face.