Two teens accused of killing a 26-year-old Baltimore man appeared in Howard County District Court Tuesday.

Tracee Octavious Parker, 17, of Ellicott City and a 14-year-old co-defendant from Severn were arrested in October for the death of Kendrick McLellan, who was found shot to death in a Columbia parking lot. Both teens were indicted last month. Authorities have declined to release the 14-year-old’s name or any other details.

Parker is facing charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, firearm use in a felony or violent crime, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, having a dangerous deadly weapon on school property and four firearms violations. The 14-year-old is charged similarly, with two firearms violations, a theft charge, unauthorized removal of a motor vehicle and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and excepting the school property offense.

The 14-year-old defendant will next appear in court Dec. 2 for a hearing to determine whether he will be tried in adult or juvenile court. If he remains in adult court, a seven-day trial will begin March 24.

Howard County Circuit Court Judge William Tucker was unable to schedule Parker’s trial due to specially assigned Judge Lara Weathersbee’s lack of availability until August. Instead, Tucker continued the scheduling hearing to next Friday. In the meantime, he said he would reassign the case to a senior judge.

Parker, who was under the supervision of the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services for an Anne Arundel County attempted murder charge at the time of his arrest, was taken into custody at Howard High School Oct. 15 when police said he was found with a loaded gun in his backpack. The 14-year-old suspect was arrested the next day at Chesapeake High School in Pasadena.

The teens’ arrests sparked policy debate about schools being notified of students’ criminal histories. Last month, Howard County Public School System Superintendent Bill Barnes said he was considering communication and security measures the school system could take to ensure greater safety and transparency.

Howard County Police Department said in an Oct. 17 news release that officers found McLellan dead from multiple gunshot wounds on Oct. 12 inside a car on the 8800 block of Centre Park Drive in Columbia, which is just down the road from Howard High School. Police believe the shooting happened Oct. 9, the release stated.

Included in the release was a brief statement from the victim’s mother, who said: “My son was a funny, outgoing, caring father. He was my all. My son would give anything to anybody. I’m hurt that he died a senseless death and these kids need to be held accountable. I want to thank everyone for all the work they did to make these arrests and for all the prayers. At this time, I request that the media respects my family’s privacy.”

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