A 19-year old Galveston man has been charged with murder in the death of a 13-year-old killed in June when a pickup truck crashed into a house.
Kenneth Edmond, 13, of La Marque, died June 18 when the truck he was riding in crashed on Avenue K in Galveston after police had attempted to stop the vehicle. In the early hours of June 18, police were searching for a group of people that had been reportedly breaking into cars in several hotel parking lots on the island, Galveston Police Department spokesman Derek Gaspard said.
Police spotted the truck that was being used by the group, a green Chevy, moving north away from Seawall Boulevard near the intersection of Avenue M and 17th Street, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Daily News.
Officers attempted to stop the truck, but it fled, eventually turning west on Avenue K. The truck crashed after leaving the road and driving over a curb, crashing into two houses, hitting two cars and rolling over, police said.
The truck had been moving at 86 mph when it crashed, according to the affidavit. Its driver had run at least nine stop signs after fleeing the attempted stop, according to the affidavit.
The truck belonged to a man from Schulenburg and had been reported stolen before the crash, according to the affidavit.
Police initially identified Edmond as the driver and said the teen was trapped in the vehicle after the crash. He was taken from the scene to a University of Texas Medical Branch hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Immediately after the crash, police said they were looking for a second person who had been in the truck but fled the scene on foot.
Edmond’s relatives later questioned the police version of events, saying he had been picked up by a group of other boys and had not been driving the truck.
Police said Friday they believe Frederick Antone Degrassa York, 19, of Galveston, had been the driver of the truck. He was arrested and charged with murder Thursday.
“York is accused of being the driver of the vehicle that ultimately took the life of Edmond,” Gaspard said in a news release.
York was identified after a parole officer called investigators to tell them that one of the men she monitored had been in the truck before it crashed, according to the affidavit.
Through interviews with witnesses and relatives, police determined that four people — including York and Edmond — were involved in the string of attempted burglaries before the crash, according to the affidavit.
Police also reviewed a SnapChat video shot by Edmond about an hour before the crash, which they used to help identify York, according to the warrant.
York was at the Galveston County jail on Friday afternoon. His bond was set at $150,000.
If convicted, York faces between five and 99 years in prison, and up to a $10,000 fine.
Article credit: Galveston Daily News: http://www.galvnews.com/news/free/article_8d604494-1fff-5aee-8f06-144e56dea43e.html
