Recently released court documents in the case of a teen girl charged with shooting and killing Andrew Lenahan, 18, in October in Union Township provide additional details about what reportedly happened that night, a gathering of young people that included alcohol and firearms.
The Post-Tribune is not naming the girl, 17, even though her case has been waived to adult court because she is a juvenile. She has been charged with reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony.
Porter County Juvenile Magistrate Kristen Mulligan filed the waiver to adult court on March 13. The girl’s initial hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. May 16 before Porter Circuit Court Judge Mary DeBoer.
Lenahan, who moved to Gary in July from Savannah, Georgia, died in the shooting on the night of Oct. 14.
According to a probable cause document unsealed on Monday, around 10:15 p.m. on Oct. 14, the Porter County Sheriff’s Department got a call about a male subject with a gunshot wound to the head in a pole barn in the 600 West block of County Road 100 North in Union Township.
The homeowner, who called police at the time of the shooting, said he invited his friends, including Lenahan, over for a small “get-together.” In all, seven young people gathered at the homeowner’s place, including the teen girl.
The homeowner told police that the group went into a pole barn with a gathering area and a bar. Three of the people at the party, including Lenahan, “all took out their Glock firearms and dismantled them. They were showing each other the firearms and swapping slides back and forth,” documents state.
The group, the homeowner told police, was at his residence for 20 minutes before putting the firearms down. Lenahan “placed his magazine back into his firearm and placed it on the bar top,” documents state.
The homeowner observed the girl step back around the front side of the bar and pick up Lenahan’s firearm. “She did not say anything as she pulled the slide back and chambered a live round,” documents state.
“(The girl) stepped in front of Andrew and pointed the firearm at his head and pulled the trigger. The gun fired and struck Andrew who immediately fell to the ground,” documents state.
The girl “became hysterical and passed out from the shock,” according to the filing, and while the homeowner was trying to provide aid to Lenehan and call 911, the girl and a friend fled the property on foot.
Police responded to the home of the girl’s father in Crown Point and he confirmed the girl was there but refused to speak further with police without a warrant. Shortly after the Porter County SWAT team arrived, the girl, her friend and her friend’s mom left the house.
Police received verbal and written consent to search the property in Union Township after the shooting took place. In the pole barn on the property, they found a bar with open containers of hard liquor, beer and wine.
They also located a Glock 45 in the pole barn and a fired Winchester 9 mm Lugar cartridge case. Police located two additional Glocks inside the residence, including a tan one.
During a Feb. 27 hearing in juvenile court, the girl “admitted to pointing a tan-colored firearm at Andrew Lenahan and pulling the trigger. (The girl) stated that she was about five feet away from Andrew when she fired the shot,” according to the court documents.
The girl was released from the Juvenile Detention Center in late October and to the custody of her mother, with a series of stipulations established by Mulligan.
There is probable cause to believe the girl committed the offense, Mulligan said in the document filed last month waiving the girl to adult court.
“The juvenile was a child by age at the time of the offense, but she involved herself in adult activities that included weapons, reckless behavior, and alcohol,” the document states. “The Court finds waiver is in the best interest of the safety and welfare of the community due to the type of crime, the circumstances surrounding the crime, the weapon involved, the reckless behavior, and the age of the juvenile.”
Ken Elwood, the girl’s defense attorney in juvenile court, has said the shooting was “a tragic accident, not a reckless act.”
Lenahan moved to Gary in July for a job as a union pipe fitter and a welder after spending a year with his family in Savannah, Georgia.
He had plans, his mom, Tabitha Lenahan, has said, to live with a nephew and settle in the area since his mom is from Gary and her parents and several family members live in this area.
“Andrew was just very fun loving. He had a great smile. That’s what everyone remembers him for. His blond, curly hair and a smile that lit up a room,” Tabitha Lenahan has said.
alavalley@chicagotribune.com
