FLINT, MI - Attorneys want a second opinion before three Clio teens accused of hurling a six-pound rock off a Vienna Township highway overpass, piercing a van windshield and killing a man are declared mentally competent to stand trial.

Appearing in Genesee County District Court on Thursday, Jan. 11, lawyers for Kyle Anger, Mark Sekelsky and Trevor Gray - ages 18, 16 and 15, respectively - asked Judge William C. Crawford III to allow for a third-party independent evaluation before determining whether the three were mentally competent at the time of the fatal incident at the Interstate 75 overpass, and possess the capacity to understand the charges against them.

Initial state forensic examinations showed the teenagers as mentally competent, but citing the teens' young ages and the seriousness of the charges against the three, attorneys said a second opinion on the matter is needed.

Noting the gravity of the situation, Crawford said he would permit a second mental competency exam for all three.

"While my client may be considered competent to aid in his defense in the cozy confines of a doctor's office, under the bright lights of the courtroom, juveniles tend to have a different mindset," said Frank J. Manley, attorney for Sekelsky. "In these circumstances where we have a child facing his loss of liberty, it's extremely prudent to leave no stone unturned and get this independent examination."

Attorney Jessica Mainprize-Hajek, representing Gray, also asked the judge to consider granting her client a publicly-funded independent evaluation, adding that the 16-year-old is indigent and cannot afford the funds for a second evaluation. The request has already been approved by the court's public defender administrator and will be reviewed by Crawford.

The two other teens charged with murder in connection with the case - Mikadyn Payne, 16, and Alexzander Miller, 15 - also appeared before Crawford on Thursday.

While attorneys for Payne and Miller have not requested mental competency evaluations for their clients and are cleared to continue with court proceedings, prosecutors asked the judge to allow them to wait for their three co-defendants' examination results in order to move ahead in the judicial process, noting that the family of victim Kenneth A. White did not want to hear the painful details of the Mt. Morris father's death more than once.

"They did not want to have to listen to this two times," said Assistant Prosecutor Karen Hanson.

Crawford again denied bond for all five of the Clio teens, saying he would not consider bail until hearing evidence in the case.

All five teenagers are due back in court on Thursday, March 8, facing charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, malicious destruction of property and other felony and misdemeanor charges in connection with White's death.

Anger is being held in the Genesee County Jail, while the others are being held in the Genesee Valley Regional Center for juveniles.

In total, the teens each face eight felonies and two misdemeanors in connection with White's death.

All face the possibility of up to life in prison.

More than a dozen rocks were allegedly thrown from over the Dodge Road overpass along southbound I-75 and struck multiple vehicles, including the van in which White was riding. The rock that struck that vehicle punctured the windshield and led to his death, authorities say.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell previously said tires and an engine piston also were thrown from the Farrand Road overpass onto I-75, roughly three miles north of where White was killed. Several other vehicles sustained damage, including flat tires, from items thrown onto the interstate.

The rocks, one weighing 20 pounds, were gathered from a dead-end street in Vienna Township and put in the flatbed of a pickup truck, Pickell said.

After throwing the items from the overpass, the teens went to eat at a local fast-food restaurant investigators said.

White, 32, of Mt. Morris, left behind four children, a fiancee, his parents and six siblings. His family declined to speak with MLive-The Flint Journal about the incident.