Juvenile charged in Nov. 3 gang-related shooting appears in court
Geronimo Standinghorn, 14, appeared in court on March 26 on charges from the Nov. 3 gang-related shooting near McDonald’s and the Phoenix Apartments on 10th Avenue South.
Appearing in person in court, Standinghorn answered not true to charges of felony counts of attempted deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence, and a misdemeanor count of assault.
In youth court, defendants answer true or not true to charges during an answer hearing, which is similar to guilty or not guilty during an initial appearance or arraignment in adult court.
The three charges in this case were initially filed in adult court in November.
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In late February, Judge Elizabeth Best sent the case back to Youth Court.
During the March 26 hearing, Preston Rammell, the deputy county attorney prosecuting the case, said that a plea agreement was being discussed.
Best told Standinghorn, “this process is intended to get you to adulthood with support so you can be a productive citizen.”
She thanked Standinghorn’s mother for attending the hearing.
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Standinghorn had been held in the Juvenile Detention Center since November.
He was released on a $50,000 bond on March 8 with GPS monitoring, according to the Cascade County Attorney’s Office.
Standinghorn was in Judge John Parker’s court on March 3 for several pending misdemeanor charges.
One of his pending charges is a criminal endangerment charge related to a shooting near Papa Johns about 18 months ago, according to the Cascade County Attorney’s Office.
During the hearing, Parker asked Standinghorn if he’d read any books while in custody at the JDC.
Standinghorn said “yeah” but when asked what books, said he didn’t really know.
Parker recommended that Standinghorn talk to JDC staff to get some books on whatever topic interest him to “make good use of your mind while you’re in there, can you do that for me?”
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Standinghorn was about a month shy of his 14th birthday at the time of the Nov. 3 shooting.
He was arrested for disorderly conduct in October, and in a JDC questionnaire, claimed to be a “regular member” of a specific local gang that had about 10 members. He also has tattoos with known gang references, according to charging documents.
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A 12-year-old was also charged with a count of tampering with evidence in the shooting. He was sentenced to three years in Pine Hills Correctional Facility, where he is currently, on that charge and a previous case, according to the Cascade County Attorney’s Office.
Standinghorn appeared in Best’s court for a Feb. 26 transfer hearing, which is when the court determines whether a juvenile charged with serious offenses in adult court should be tried as an adult or sent to youth court.
Best said she was “concerned about community safety with the level of violence here,” and understood from a report submitted to the court that Standinghorn would likely need some treatment and/or behavioral counseling.
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Standinghorn’s defense attorney, Vince van der Hagen, hired psychologist Dr. Donna Zook to evaluate the boy for the Feb. 26 hearing.
Zook said Standinghorn had reactive detachment disorder, due to inadequate parenting, including a mother who had post-partum depression, wanting to kill him and abandoned him. She said his father had struggled with drug addiction.
Zook said that his behavior was not acceptable or safe for the community, but that he had the capacity for empathy and “he is not psychopathic.”
Since he showed empathy toward innocent people, Zook said she believed he was treatable and his behavior could be changed.
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Standinghorn hadn’t had the opportunity to understand and practice social skills, displaying impulsive, disorganized behavior, she said.
Best asked if that was typical of more children his age, and Zook said his behavioral development wasn’t at the level of a typical 14-year-old who would have better perception and understanding of social rules and regulations.
She said she’d have concerns about Standinghorn being tried in adult court with the possibility of incarceration with adult inmates.
“If it doesn’t kill him, literally, it’s going to turn him into a monster,” Zook said.
She recommended the case be transferred to youth court and that Standinghorn be treated for his detachment disorder.
Matt Darlington, a juvenile probation officer, said he began supervising Standinghorn in early 2025 on a shoplifting charge, then again on a since dismissed vehicle theft and other charges that remain pending.
The boy had very little parental supervision, little scholastic achievement and was basically raising himself, he said.
Darlington said he had trouble locating Standinghorn’s father over the last year and believed the case should be tried in youth court, where the boy had the best access to services and a chance to improve.
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Rammell, the Cascade County deputy attorney prosecuting the case, said Standinghorn’s juvenile friends were gang-affiliated and it was likely the concerning behaviors would continue without intervention.
Speaking to Standinghorn during the Feb. 26 hearing, Best said the behavior of juveniles roaming the community with guns was “horrifying.”
Best said that in the long-term, the county had to consider community protection, the nature of the offense and also the nature of the person, who in this case is “frankly still a young kid.”
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She said to Standinghorn that she was holding him to a standard of getting better.
Best said that in the big picture, the community would be better served by Standinghorn going through youth court, rather than putting him in a situation where he wouldn’t get treatment and more likely warehousing him in the adult system with inmates who have higher criminal skills and then releasing him back into the community.
