Linton 16-year-old to stand trial as an adult

Juvenile jurisdiction has been waived for a 16-year-old accused of stealing a car, stealing a truck and a firearm, then stealing a utility vehicle during a recent joy ride through two counties. The Linton teen is scheduled to appear in Greene Superior Court tomorrow morning to be charged as an adult.

Devin Medlin

Devin Gene Lawrence Medlin, 16, of Linton, was booked in to the Greene County Jail around 9 a.m. last Friday, October 4, by Greene County Deputy Prosecutor Robert Miles.

Devin Medlin was taken into custody following a multi-faceted incident that occurred on September 11, that involved numerous officers from several departments in two counties. He was housed in a juvenile detention facility.

A second juvenile was also involved and taken into custody. His case, which remains under the jurisdiction of juvenile authorities, is not a matter of public record.

In Medlin’s case, the prosecutor’s office filed a motion to waive juvenile jurisdiction and for Medlin to stand trial as an adult.

Last Friday, a hearing was conducted in Greene Circuit Court with Judge Erik Allen on the bench.

Medlin appeared before the judge in person, along with his mother, Public Defender Ellen Martin representing Medlin, and Deputy Prosecutor Miles representing the State. At the time of the hearing, Medlin was in the custody of the Southwest Indiana Regional Youth Village (SWIRYV).

Waiving a juvenile into adult court is a serious decision and in a lengthy Waiver Order, Judge Allen states his findings. Included in the Waiver Order is a narrative about the offenses allegedly committed by Medlin. It states there has been a repetitive pattern of delinquent acts with prior adjudications for theft, auto theft, and battery with moderate bodily injury.

According to the Waiver Order, “On or about September 11, 2019 at approximately 3:40 a.m., juvenile’s mother reported the juvenile had left home and her significant other’s car was missing. The missing 2004 Pontiac Grand Am was located at a residence in Sullivan County, Indiana, and a truck was missing from that residence.

“The juvenile admitted to taking the Grand Am and leaving it at the Sullivan County residence when it became disabled. He then attempted to steal another vehicle on the Sullivan County property but it would not start, he then stole another vehicle on the same property (a truck).

“Juvenile took loose change from the truck and purchased items at a gas station. Juvenile returned to Greene County and picked up another juvenile. A firearm was inside of the truck and juvenile and the other juvenile took the firearm from the truck and discharged the firearm. After wrecking and causing serious damage to the truck, the two juveniles located and took a utility vehicle from a farm.

“The juveniles were chased by a farmer and ended up wrecking the UTV in a field and fled on foot. The firearm was located in the area where the UTV was wrecked. Juvenile was ultimately located by law enforcement and juvenile admitted to law enforcement that he took the Grand Am, he took the truck, he took the UTV, and he took the firearm.”

Note: Medlin was on probation at the time these incidents occurred.

The order indicates that Medlin has been through numerous programs, evaluations and therapies.

The Waiver Order issued by Judge Allen states, “Juvenile is beyond rehabilitation under the juvenile justice system…,” and it cites the following facts and programs that have been made available to him:

• He first became involved with the juvenile probation officer in March of 2015 when he was 12 and the juvenile probation officer has been continuously involved with him since, except when he was at Boys School.

• He’s been placed in secure detention on five separate occasions for a total of 40 days.

• He was in foster care from July 2015 until February of 2016 when he was removed due to safety concerns for others based on his behavior. During foster care, he received individual and family therapy, participated in two different programs and had four acute care hospitalizations.

• At one point he was placed in emergency shelter care.

• He has had diagnostic evaluations including psychological and psychiatric testing.

• He was in residential placement at Gibault two times. The first time he completed a program and was returned home with probation and services but due to behavior was returned to Gibault. The second time, he went AWOL.

• During a placement at a secure mental health facility, there were multiple reports of behavioral problems and he assaulted a staff member in an attempt to steal keys – he was then removed from the facility.

• He was placed at Indiana Boys School in September of 2017, had a new charge of battery while there, then was discharged in late 2018. Upon his discharge, he returned home on probation with intensive services including weekly in-home therapy, weekly case management services and medication management. He had all these services when the current incident occurred on September 11.

The Waiver Order concludes that it is in the best interest of the safety and welfare of the community that Medlin stand trial as an adult.

The Order specifies that when incarcerated in the Greene County Jail, Medlin’s bond was to be set at $16,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed. As of Monday evening, October 7, Medlin had not yet posted bond and remained in the jail.

A new criminal case in Greene Superior Court was filed against Medlin last Friday and he is scheduled to appear for an initial hearing tomorrow morning, October 8, when he will be formally charged, as an adult, with:

• Three counts of auto theft, all involving theft of an entire automobile, all Level 6 felonies,

• Theft of a firearm, a Level 6 felony, and

• Criminal trespassing, a Class A misdemeanor.

This story will likely be updated with more details about the incident in another story on GreeneStreets after the initial hearing. Note: Prior to current charges being filed in Greene Superior, this case was a juvenile matter and GreeneStreets did not have access to records in order to write a story.