CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A Kanawha County teenager, originally charged as a juvenile in connection with a man’s shooting death, will now be tried as an adult.
A Kanawha County grand jury handed up an indictment late last week against Robert Earl Ruffin, 17, of South Charleston. Ruffin and 21-year-old De’Anthony Akeem Thornabar, also of South Charleston, are charged in the September 2016 death of Dylan Bailey.
Prosecutors re-indicted Thornabar after they received a favorable ruling from a judge that Ruffin could be tried as an adult, Kanawha County Assistant Prosecutor Maryclaire Akers said.
“We needed to re-indict the case so we could indict them as co-defendants, together, name them both in the indictment,” she said. “It doesn’t affect the case. Currently, the case has an August trial date. They are set to be arraigned June 21 and it may not even affect that trial date.”
It’s alleged Thornabar shot Bailey after a fight between the two at Oakes Field in South Charleston that happened after Thornabar’s comments about a woman, Akers said.
“That fight escalated to the point where Thornabar and Ruffin produced a firearm and Thornabar shot the victim as the fight was deescalating. Actually the victim was running away at the time he was shot,” Akers said.
It’s alleged Ruffin aided and assisted Thornabar in the crime.