Prosecutor Says Boy Too Young To Be Tried As Adult

The 13-year-old suspect in a stabbing at Burley Junior High School is two months too young to be charged as an adult, Cassia County Prosecutor Howard Smyser said.

So the boy - whose name was not being disclosed because of his age - will be tried as a juvenile with attempted murder for Wednesday’s stabbing, which Cassia County Sheriff Billy Crystal said involved a pack of cigarettes.

The suspect apparently was upset with the victim, Jared Timmons, 15, for telling school officials the cigarettes Timmons was found with belonged to the younger boy, Crystal said Friday.

Timmons was stabbed in the chest during lunch time at the school. He was treated at Cassia Memorial Hospital and released.

The suspect fled the scene and later was apprehended without incident in Rupert by Minidoka County sheriff’s deputies. He was being held Friday at the MiniCassia Juvenile Detention Center in Rupert.

“We would prefer to try him as an adult,” Crystal said. “The fact that he planned the attack and carried it out shows at least an ability to plan over a period of time injury to another person.”