13-year-old Anderson boy charged with murder

[Pelican Press 0]

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13-year-old Anderson boy charged with *******

Jan. 27—ANDERSON — A 13-year-old boy has been charged with two counts of ******* and armed robbery in connection with the October 2024 stabbing death of a 61-year-old Anderson man in an apparent failed robbery attempt.

Joseph H. Vannote Jr. appeared in Madison Circuit Court Division 6 on Monday for an initial hearing. He is being represented by defense attorney Bryan Williams.

“It’s unusual,” Prosecutor Rodney Cummings said of waiving a 13-year-old into adult court. “We had a couple of 14-year-olds charged in the past.”

Cummings noted that the decision about whether to charge a child as an adult “depends on a lot of factors.”

“He clearly knew what he was doing,” the prosecutor said. “He’s probably the youngest person we’ve charged with *******.”

If convicted, Vannote faces a possible prison sentence of 45-65 years.

Madison Circuit Court Division 2 Judge Steve Koester signed the waiver last week to charge Vannote as an adult.

The waiver states that on Oct. 11 the state filed three counts of delinquency that would be ******* if committed by an adult.

The waiver maintains that video footage shows Vannote and Miles leaving a gas station together Oct. 3 and heading toward Miles’ residence in the 900 block of West 12th Street.

“The child initially admitted to the stabbing but lied about the circumstances surrounding what happened,” the court document states. “Eventually, the child confessed to robbing the victim and stabbing him to death in the course of the robbery.”

Koester wrote that, at the time of the *******, Vannote was on probation in Illinois on a delinquency charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon if committed by an adult.

Other alleged ******** acts committed by Vannote include: carrying a knife on a school bus in October 2022; aggravated battery of a classmate that month; punching another youth in September 2023, and domestic battery against his mother in November 2023.

According to a probable cause affidavit related to the death of Miles filed by Detective Richard Stires, Vannote changed his story several times during the investigation.

On Oct. 3, a woman contacted police to tell them that she was checking on Miles, 61, at his Anderson residence and found the front door open. She then found Miles lying on the floor.

The juvenile eventually told investigators that he met Miles at a local convenience store and asked him for money. The juvenile told police he followed Miles with the intent of robbing him.

After he refused to leave the residence, Vannote said, Miles hit him in the head with a cane and told him to leave.

The juvenile said he went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and stabbed Miles several times in the chest and stomach.

He said that after Miles hit him with the cane he decided to stab him. The juvenile said he initially believed he could just punch Miles and rob him.

At first, Vannote told police that Miles told him to take off his pants; and at another point, according to Vannote, Miles asked that the boy tell his mother to come to the residence.

Vannote later said that both of those statements were lies.

He admitted to stealing Miles’ wallet, which was discovered on the street, and going through Miles’ pockets in search of money.

When asked whether he could have avoided the situation by leaving, the juvenile said he could have avoided it, and noted, “Now I’m here, and I killed somebody,” according to the affidavit.

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@KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.

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#13yearold #Anderson #boy #charged #*******

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