Two teenagers have now been convicted of a drive-by shooting that killed 28-year-old jail officer Rhema Harris in Mishawaka back in 2022 — including 16-year-old Braelyn Rios.
Braelyn admitted to aggravated battery for his role in that shooting last month, but the fact he was only 14 years old when he took part in the drive-by orchestrated by his older uncle has made his sentencing more complex.
On Friday, St. Joseph County judge David Fransisco gave Braelyn a 24-year sentence, but that will be put on hold while Braelyn is being treated as a juvenile for the time being.
Braelyn is currently 16 and Indiana law allows teens to be sentenced as juveniles, even if they were convicted in adult court. So for now, the boy will be sent to a juvenile correctional facility in Pendleton until he turns 18. At that point, the court will receive a report and a judge will decide if Braelyn should start his full adult sentence or be released on probation or house arrest.
It’s also possible a judge at that point rules Braelyn should stay in the juvenile facility until he turns 21.
Braelyn’s uncle Braxton Bird has already been sentenced to 58 years in prison for instigating the shooting. Bird had been feuding with a teenage girl who he knew lived at a house on Milburn Avenue in Mishawaka. Bird gathered some a group of associates, including Rios, and the drove to the house and shot at a number of people who had gathered for a cookout there.
Harris didn't live at the Milburn location, but she was attending the cookout and was shot by one of Bird's bullets and killed.
Braelyn's attorneys have argued from the start of his case that he should be treated as a juvenile since it was Braxton Bird who got a hold of the guns used in the shooting and organized the whole thing.
However St. Joseph County magistrate Graham Polando transferred Braelyn's case to adult court, where he eventually pleaded guilty. In exchange for admitting to aggravated battery and a firearm sentencing enhancement, prosecutors dropped charges of murder and attempted murder.
