Lawrence Co. pays bills related to jailing of boy charged with murder

NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Lawrence County has decided how it will pay bills for housing Jordan Brown, the 11-year-old boy charged in the shotgun slaying of his father’s pregnant girlfriend.

County Controller David Gettings told the commissioners earlier this month that he was refusing bills from Allencrest Juvenile Detention Center and the Beaver County Sheriff’s Department concerning housing and security for the boy, who police say shot Kenzie Houk, 26, in February at the rural farmhouse she shared with the boy, his father and her two daughters on New Galilee Road near Wampum.

Jordan was moved to Allencrest on Feb. 25 from the Lawrence County Jail, and he stayed there five days after his arrest Feb. 21.

He has since been moved to the Edmund L. Thomas juvenile detention center in Erie.

Gettings said he questioned why the sheriff’s department billed $2,786 for extra security when Lawrence County agreed to pay $300 a day instead of the normal per diem rate of $200, with the extra $100 specifically for security.

He told commissioners Thursday that he will pay the sheriff’s bill and $200 a day for the five-day stay.

He indicated the county also will pay $1,035 to Allencrest for a physical examination for Jordan.