JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The State Attorney’s Office said the parents of a 13-year-old murder suspect will not be charged in the case.
On Thursday, State Attorney Angela Corey announced Sharron Townsend, 13, will be tried as an adult on a charge of murder in the second degree.
Sharron is accused of shooting and killing a homeless man, Thomas Trent, back in June. The crime took place near a shopping center off 103rd Street.
After Sharron's arrest, a group of local pastors sent a letter to the State Attorney's Office asking for Sharron to be tried as an adult, according to Ken Adkins, spokesperson for the pastors.
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Adkins told Action News the pastors also asked that Sharron's parents be charged in the case.
"Parents need to be held accountable for the actions of their children," Adkins told Action News.
Action News contacted the State Attorney's Office about the possibility.
Spokesperson Jackie Barnard said, "The parents are not charged in this case. The defendant's mother contacted authorities and reported her son missing at the time of the murder."
Thursday afternoon the victim's family declined to talk about the case. A family member told Action News they are holding off on further comment until the case goes to court.
Action News spoke with the victim's sister, Dawn McNabb, in June after Sharron's arrest.
"It's an actual child that took someone's life, that destroyed someone's world," she said in disbelief.
McNabb said that Trent chose to live on the street, but always stayed close with his family.
"Thomas had a heart of gold," she said.
Sharron's indictment comes just a couple of years after 13-year-old Cristian Fernandez was charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the death of his 2-year-old half-brother.
"Neither Fernandez nor Townsend belong in juvenile court," said Corey. "Our juvenile court simply is not ever going to be able to deal with juveniles who commit murder."
Florida law requires that Sharron not be held with anyone over 18 years old.
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