15-year-old denied pretrial release in murder case

WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) – A Trumbull County teenager accused of killing a man at a Fourth of July party was in juvenile court Friday for a plea hearing.

In the plea hearing, which is similar to an arraignment in adult court, the 15-year-old pleaded “not true” to a murder charge with a firearms specification.

It stems from last week’s shooting on High Avenue in Niles that killed Brandon Bork.

Responding officers found Bork suffering from a gunshot wound to the head in a driveway. Investigators say the shooting stemmed from a verbal altercation at a party at the home.
The teenager’s attorney, Gary Rich, had asked for pretrial release.

“My client has absolutely no juvenile record whatsoever, period — good student, nothing wrong in the past. He was invited there to the party, the decedent came there looking for trouble as witnesses will testify to. My client believes he was in imminent harm of himself or others and fired one shot in self-defense and voluntarily turned himself in to police in full cooperation,” Rich said.

Rich’s request was denied and another hearing in the case has yet to be scheduled. Prosecutors asked for at least 45 days noting they are still waiting on lab results and a coroner’s report.

The Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office also asks anyone who has information on the shooting to give Niles Police a call

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