Bedford teen murder suspect could be tried as an adult

FORT WORTH, Texas - The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office will ask a judge to certify the 16-year-old boy accused of murdering a Bedford girl as an adult.

Jordin Roache, 16, was charged with the murder of 14-year-old Kaytlynn Cargill. She disappeared in June from her apartment complex and her body was found two days later in an Arlington landfill.

Investigators believe Roache and Cargill got into an argument over the $300 he owed her for a marijuana deal. He allegedly beat her with a hammer and placed her body in a dumpster, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Roache remains in custody at a juvenile detention center. If certified as an adult, he would be moved from the juvenile detention center to the Tarrant County Jail.

If certified, he his trial would take place in an adult court with regular prosecutors and a judge. If then convicted of murder, he could face a more severe penalty than if he was tried as a youth and be sentenced to time in an adult prison. He cannot face the death penalty.

"If he is transferred to the adult or certified as an adult he's facing life in prison," said former juvenile prosecutor Trent Lofton, who is not involved in the case. "if he stays in the juvenile system, he's not facing life in prison."

There have been two other recent high profile adult certifications in Tarrant County.

Ethan Couch's case, involving four drunk driving deaths, was moved to adult court in 2016. Last month, the D.A. certified double-murder suspect Tayvon McIntyre as an adult. He's accused of a murder in Mansfield, one in Bexar County and an aggravated assault in Arlington.

"It's based on the severity of the crime, it's based on the best interest of society and the best interests of the child involved,” Lofton said of the pending decision.

The Tarrant County DA confirmed the paperwork to certify him as an adult has been filed but no court date has been set.