What began as a typical Wednesday evening near a Houston apartment complex spiraled into a chaotic brawl involving up to 30 people and a 13-year-old girl’s life cut short. Now, Harris County prosecutors must decide whether a 10-year-old boy, barely out of elementary school, should face a rare legal path that could see him behind bars until his 19th birthday and beyond.
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The Houston Police Department said there was a 20-30 person fight between two groups of people at an apartment complex near the intersection of Grow Lane and Dow Road on the city’s northwest side, according to KHOU 11.
Officials are investigating whether the fight stemmed from an earlier dispute involving several teenagers at a Cy-Fair ISD school. Houston Police Lt. Larry Crowson said the incidents appear to be related, local news channel KTRK 13 reported.
Officers responded to calls of a stabbing and disturbance around 8 p.m. Upon their arrival, they found Riley DeArmas, 13, “suffering from a stab wound.” The Houston Fire Department paramedics transported her to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced deceased.
Lt. Crowson said during a press conference after Wednesday’s slaying that DeArmas was among the crowd who “came over and started assaulting people in that apartment.”
Police detained the 10-year-old boy at the scene but later released him pending further investigation. Under Texas law, 10 is the minimum age of criminal responsibility, leaving prosecutors to determine if the boy will face charges in juvenile court. A child must be at least 14 years old to stand trial in adult criminal court for a first-degree felony like murder.
Investigators said the boy surrendered to police and reportedly admitted to stabbing DeArmas, but claimed he acted in self-defense, according to KTRK 13. The girl’s mother, Ashley DeArmas, said that wasn’t the case.
“There was no self-defense. My daughter was attacked,” Ashley said, adding her late daughter “was not a violent person. She would never harm anyone intentionally.”
Riley— whom her mother described as “joyful,” “free-spirited” and “happy”— would’ve turned 14 years old next month. “I will never get a chance to hug her, to tell her I love her, because her life was just cut so short,” Ashley added. Officials said they are speaking with additional witnesses and reviewing surveillance videos.
Criminal defense attorney Joe Vinas, who is not connected to the case, said per Texas law, “You actually don’t even have to be right, you don’t have to be correct to assert a self-defense, as long as a reasonable person in the actor’s position could be in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or death, they could then use deadly force to defend themselves.”
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