Replies

We didn't have to wait a few days. Here's the article about the coroner reporting, FUR SHUR, that the kid was SHOT IN THE BACK.

From the article:

"A 16-year-old boy killed during a seemingly innocent late-night prank was shot in the back, according to emergency room records.

Please note, that this is not an autopsy (Coroner's report), but is more in the form of a press release by the attorney for the family, who has stated intent to file a wrongful death suit.

Also from the article: Levin has not been charged in the shooting. His attorney, Bo Hitchcock, did not immediately return a phone message Sunday. Mike Edmondson, spokesman for Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer, declined to comment on the hospital report.

While I'm content to wait and see what the coroner says, but I am also willing to admit it'd be really hard to mix up entry and exit wounds.

If this is the case, and the guy back-shot him, Guy's going to have to prove some stuff he's not likely to be able to prove. and God have mercy on his soul. are two statements I sure can't argue with.

The plot thickens. Mr. Levin, who was arrested week before last, has now hired Roy Black to defend him. I guess when Roy is done helping Rush, he can focus on this case, which I think is going to be a bit tougher than clearing the Maha Rushie. The story tells at the end that Mark ran and "collapsed a few hundred feet away in front of another home" in the neighborhood. Mr. Levin's problem and why he will now be paying Roy Black is how he will explain this "self-defense" when it appears he chased Mark and shot him in the back as he ran away from Levin's property. Doesn't sound like a guy in fear for his life. If Levin is to buy his way out of this one, and that's a big IF, Roy Black don't come cheap. Notice Roy Black's spin on Levin's behalf: horrible tragedy for young man and Jay.., didn't intentionally mean to kill somebody. It's awfully hard and expensive to try to explain away shooting somebody in the back and killing them with your deadly exploding bullet when they're running away. Story below:

Boca man charged in prankster's death pleads innocent

Sun-Sentinel
Posted November 24 2003, 2:31 PM EST

WEST PALM BEACH -- A Boca Raton man pleaded innocent Monday to charges that he fatally shot a teenager who was playing a midnight prank at his home.

Jay Steven Levin, a 40-year-old accountant, appeared in court with celebrity attorney Roy Black, best known for successfully defending William Kennedy Smith on a rape charge here in Palm Beach County and as an NBC commentator.

Levin, who is under house arrest, is charged with manslaughter with a firearm in the death of 16-year-old Mark Drewes. He could be sentenced to probation or up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

"This was a horrible tragedy for the young man involved, and for Jay,'' Black said outside of court, minutes after the brief hearing.

Drewes and a friend were knocking on neighbors' doors and running away about midnight Oct. 24 when Levin said he mistook the 6-foot-2 teen for a burglar and "thought he saw something in Drewes' hand,'' according to sheriff's reports. Levin answered the knock on his door armed with a handgun and shot the teen in the back. He then called 911 and told a dispatcher he had just shot "an intruder.''

Black said Levin saw a "menacing figure,'' who appeared to have a gun himself.

"This is not a situation where he deliberately intended to kill someone,'' Black said. "He was defending his home. Today in South Florida we're well aware of all the home invasions, burglaries and robberies.''

Drewes' parents had urged neighbors in their middle-class community to press State Attorney Barry Krischer to charge Levin with second-degree murder for killing their son, particularly since the teen was shot in the back.

Drewes ran from Levin's home and collapsed a few hundred feet away in front of another home in the neighborhood. He died at a hospital hours later from a single gunshot wound.

Prosecutor Al Johnson would not comment on the case.