Homicide suspect in court Monday

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, November 21, 2006

A Suffolk teen, charged with shooting and killing another youth earlier this year, will be in court Monday for a pre-trial motion.

Brandon Artis, 16 at the time of his arrest, has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of DeShawn Parker, 17, in January.

According to a spokeswoman in the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Artis will file an unspecified pre-trial motion. She said while it isn’t clear what that action will include, they can, and often times do, involve plea agreements.

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Parker was shot in the 100 block of South 10th Street. Police found the young man lying there with a gunshot wound.

Parker was the city’s first homicide victim of the year.

Artis was initially charged with first-degree murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and using a firearm in the commission of a felony.

While authorities do not normally release the names of juveniles, Artis had previously been ajudicated as an adult.

Also in court that day will be a man charged with a rape and abduction that occurred in September.

Anthony Lamont Diggs, 23, of the 1700 block of Nansemond Parkway, was arrested earlier this year and charged with those offenses.

Police report that Diggs allegedly sexually assaulted a 28-year-old family friend.

He will appear in court for trial, although it isn’t known if it will be by jury or the judge.