Dumpster Baby Teens Found Guilty of Lesser Counts

Two teens accused of putting a newborn infant in a dumpster last July have been found guilty of 1st degree wanton endangerment, 3rd degree criminal abuse and tampering with evidence, but have been spared more serious attempted murder charges.

A McCracken County jury returned the verdict against 18-year-old Trevon Elmore and 16-year-old Casside Cherry Wednesday night, after about five hours of deliberations. The jury recommended that Elmore be sentenced as an adult, and receive a prison term 18 months. Cherry will be sentenced as a juvenile. The defendants were facing attempted murder charges, but the jury chose not to convict them on those counts.  

Under a plea agreement reached by both parties in November, Cherry and Elmore would have served seven and eight years in prison, respectively. Commonwealth Attorney Carrie Ovey-Wiggins says Judge Craig Clymer rejected that agreement, forcing the case to go to trial.

"The judge rejected that plea, and that effectively forced me to have to try the case. Unfortunately, the penalty received by the jury was much less than what had been negotiated in the plea agreement." Ovey-Wiggins said.

Clymer will formally sentence both defendants at a Feb. 9 hearing.