Attorneys to appeal Cherokee County judge's ruling involving a Tahlequah teenager

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- Attorneys for a Tahlequah teenager charged with second-degree murder in a fatal hit-and-run accident have filed a notice to appeal a judge's ruling that the juvenile should

Monday, December 26th 2005, 6:14 am

By: News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- Attorneys for a Tahlequah teenager charged with second-degree murder in a fatal hit-and-run accident have filed a notice to appeal a judge's ruling that the juvenile should be sentenced as an adult.

Cherokee County Special District Judge Sandy Crosslin granted prosecutors' motion that Charles Patrick Henderson shouldn't be sentenced as a youthful offender if he's convicted.

First Assistant District Attorney Donovan Dobbs cited Hendricks' lengthy juvenile record and the severity of the crime alleged against him as factors for seeking an adult sentence.

The 17-year-old is charged as a youthful offender in connection with the vehicle-pedestrian crash that killed 59-year-old Lankford Leigh.

He allegedly hit Leigh in June while the victim walked behind a grocery store.

A witness testified that he was making a delivery at the store when a car jumped along behind Leigh before racing the motor and hitting him.