FLINT, MI – A veteran probation officer recommended juvenile sentencing for three teens in the October 2017 rock-throwing death of Kenneth A. White.

Mikadyn Payne, 17, Mark Sekelsky, 17, and Trevor Gray, 16 appeared Wednesday, March 6 in front of Genesee Circuit Judge Joseph J. Farah for a continuation of a sentencing hearing.

They previously reached a plea deal that dropped 10 of 11 charges and amended a second-degree murder charge to manslaughter. The plea still needs to be officially accepted by the court.

White died after a large rock crashed through the windshield of his vehicle on southbound Interstate 75 in Vienna Township. He was a passenger in the vehicle. The rock, estimated to weigh around 20 pounds, was thrown from the Dodge Road overpass.

Holly Walker, a probation officer with the state of Michigan, offered her recommendation after an assessment that reviews items such as the offense itself, any past record and the socioeconomic structure in their homes.

“I’m trying to look at the facts and make the best recommendation based on the facts and the circumstances in this case with no emotions in regard to my decision on the recommendation,” she said.

Still, Walker recognized the gravity of the incident.

“I believe what happened to the victim, there’s no excuse. Nothing can bring him back,” Walker said during questioning by Frank Manley, Sekelsky’s attorney. “At this point, we have to go forward and decide on how we’re going to address the responsibility to the community that these young men are either going to be in or released back into.”

Information in the report included Snapchat messages sent between the suspects regarding a tear drop tattoo they planned to get following the incident. The messages were sent after the incident took place.

“The fact that they had taken a life and that they had planned to pretend like it didn’t happen…that was difficult to read,” said Walker.

Speaking on their potential sentences, Farah questioned what outcome would be just in the case.

“Is the measurement of redemption going to be ‘You know what judge, I learned you shouldn’t throw rocks over the overpass'?" he said. “I mean that seems like a small accomplishment, doesn’t it? Is it something deeper than that?”

After completing her assessment, Walker said, “I believe they knew that and that is why they took responsibility for their actions and pled guilty ... They knew that was wrong.

“I believe they need to be in a more structured environment and have programming geared towards someone their age to assist them in preventing this path they’re already starting down,” she noted.

Farah hasn’t made a decision about whether to sentence the teens as juveniles.

“I haven’t decided anything," he said. "Zero. That’s what I’ve decided so far.”

The teens could face more time served if they are sentenced as juveniles rather than as adults, with the judge having the discretion to hold them in custody up to their 21st birthdays. The court would be required to give them credit for time served if they are sentenced as adults.

Alexzander Miller, 16, did not appear in court on Wednesday.

A sentencing hearing for Kyle Anger, 19, was adjourned on Tuesday without a decision. He will be sentenced as an adult in the case. Anger previously agreed to a plea deal that dropped all charges but one count of second-degree murder.

All the other teens will testify against Anger as part of their plea deals.