A Hialeah 13-year-old accused of stabbing his mother to death is hoping to get transferred out of an adult jail to the juvenile detention center and wait for trial.
Miami-Dade Judge Richard Hersch was expected to rule on Friday but the decision was pushed to give defense attorneys more time.
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Derek Rosa made his first courtroom appearance before the judge at a status hearing on Tuesday. Rosa, wearing a brown jumpsuit, appeared calm throughout the hearing, while his grandmother and family members appeared very emotional.
Rosa is facing a murder charge in the Oct. 12 killing of his mother, 39-year-old Irina Garcia. He's being charged as an adult and is currently being held at the Metro West Detention Center.
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"Metro West is housing juveniles as of the 26 of October which happens to be the day Derek was transferred," defense attorney Dayliset Rielo said Tuesday. "We do not believe they are equipped right now for him and we think they are doing him a disservice."
On Friday we heard from witnesses who work directly with Rosa. NBC6 was told he is the youngest of 34 juveniles being held at the new juvenile section at Metro West, and that the rest are 16 and 17 years old.
"I have no complaints with Rosa," a witness said. "My staff haven’t given me no complaints when it comes to Rosa."
The department of corrections says they are always watching Rosa because hes considered high profile. The teen is alone in a cell with a frosted window with no direct view outside.
Rosa is alone and cannot associate with other children. He is only allowed to play with staff members, to ensure his safety.
HIALEAH TEEN KILLING
Prosecutors are against moving him to juvenile detention because they say Rosa needs to be treated as an adult as that is what the law says for those charged as such.
The judge gave defense attorneys until Tuesday. If they need more time to present witnesses, then there will be a hearing on Thursday.
If defense does not need more time to convice the judge to move the teen, the judge will rule on Tuesday.
On Thursday afternoon, Judge Hersch allowed a defense examination with police presence outside the apartment.
The crime scene examination happened in a three-hour block, only including an attorney, forensic examiner and photographer.
