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Chuck Patterson, chief deputy prosecutor for the York County District Attorney's Office, filed notice Tuesday that he will seek the ultimate penalty against Nigel Maitland if the defendant is convicted of first-degree murder.
Maitland is accused of shooting to death Ciara "Ce Ce" Savage as she played with friends on a York sidewalk.
Patterson told the York Dispatch that the death penalty decision was based on two factors.
"(The first is) grave risk of danger; having fired into a crowd of people," Patterson said, according to the newspaper. "A number of people were assembled on the street that day (and) any person standing in that proximity could have been seriously injured or killed."
The second factor is the victim's youth, he said. Under the law, if a homicide victim is younger than 12, the age of the victim "also constitutes an aggravating circumstance," Patterson said.
Maitland was formally arraigned Tuesday morning on charges of first-degree murder, criminal conspiracy and illegal firearm possession. His two co-defendants, Skyler Handy, 20, and Fernando Valentin Jr., 22, both of York, also were arraigned on first-degree murder and conspiracy charges.
Handy and Valentin both face the prospect of life in prison without parole if they are convicted of first-degree murder, Patterson said, the maximum penalty they can face under the law.
"Only the person who actually caused the (victim's) death can face the death penalty," Patterson said.
The three men pleaded not guilty to criminal homicide and conspiracy charges before Judge John H. Chronister.
All three were returned to York County Prison without bail, pending pretrial conferences.
Several members of the victim's family attended the arraignments, Patterson said. He said the family supports his office seeking the death penalty against Maitland.
Patterson told reporters Valentin has been cooperating with investigators by testifying against Maitland and Handy at their preliminary hearings in June. While "no specific promises have been made," Patterson said his office may give Valentin consideration for his continued cooperation.
Ciara, a Ross Elementary School third-grader, was with her mother visiting friends and family in York on May 10. She and other children were playing in the 500 block of South Duke Street when, about 2:30 p.m., Maitland, Handy and Valentin pulled over in a rental car. According to York police, the three men are members of the Parkway Crew, a gang that has had an ongoing feud with another gang for years. The two groups had clashed earlier in the day.
Police said Maitland got out of the car and fired at some of the other gang members, even though a group of children were between him and his target. One of his bullets struck Ciara in the back, police said. She died at York Hospital.
Ciara lived with her mother, Jasmine Vadell, in an apartment in the 700 block of North Shippen Street in Lancaster.
E-mail: lalexander@lnpnews.com
