Suspect, 15, Faces Trial As Adult

One of four teenagers accused of killing an elderly Quincy couple agreed Tuesday to be tried in adult court.

Donald Lambert, 15, was immediately charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the May 21 slayings of Homer and Vada Smithson in their Quincy home.

Lambert, accused of being one of the triggermen, pleaded innocent to the charges. He was held in the Grant County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail.

Trial was scheduled for Sept. 3 in Grant County Superior Court. A hearing to determine whether co-defendant Melanie Hinkle will be tried in adult or juvenile court was postponed until Thursday. She turned 16 on Monday.

Two other defendants, Marcus “David” Wawers, 15, and Adam Betancourt, 16, have pleaded guilty in the slayings and indicated they would testify against the others.

The Smithsons, 89-year-old Homer and 88-year-old Vada, apparently were shot as part of a scheme to steal guns from their home and shoot up the home of an unidentified police officer, authorities have said.