A Crown attorney says he will be seeking an adult sentence in the case of a 15-year-old boy charged with first-degree murder in the death of a York Region police officer.
Crown attorney Peter Westgate told a court in Newmarket, Ont., on Thursday that he will ask for an adult sentence if the teen is convicted of first-degree murder.
York Regional Police Const. Garrett Styles was killed after being crushed by a minivan that he had stopped on June 28.
The youth, who police say was driving the minivan, was badly hurt in the crash and remains in a Toronto hospital. Sources say the boy has been paralyzed from the neck down.
His injuries kept him from attending the Thursday court appearance. Instead, he was remanded during a brief telephone call to his hospital bed.
When asked if the accused heard the charges he faced, the boy's laywer David Berg said, "He can hear. He cannot speak. But he is within three feet of the speaker and he can hear."
A youth convicted of first-degree murder could face six years in jail, but being convicted as an adult could mean life in prison.
The youth, who cannot be named until the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been remanded until Sept. 15.
The hearing comes two days after thousands of uniformed officers and members of the public gathered in Newmarket to mourn the death of the York Regional Police officer.
On June 28, Styles was struck and pinned underneath a minivan following a traffic stop at Herald Road and Highway 48 in the town of East Gwillimbury, east of Newmarket.
Styles, who was days away from his 33rd birthday, was at the driver-side of the door when the van accelerated, dragging him 300 metres into a field, police said.
According to police, the driver of the van eventually lost control of the vehicle and flipped over.
The 32-year-old officer left behind his wife Melissa, their 10-week-old son Nolan and 2 1/2 year-old daughter Meredith.
It is expected the fall hearing will also be an audio remand.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Tamara Cherry
