YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning County Prosecutor’s office has asked Judge Theresa Dellick of Mahoning County Juvenile Court to order that four juveniles be tried as adults in the Aug. 31, 2019, armed robbery at Conroy’s Party Shop, 3518 South Ave.

Two of the juveniles, now both 17, suffered gunshot wounds when a store employee opened fire shortly after the teens entered the store about 11:30 p.m. wearing masks and gloves, according to police reports.

Dalan Reynolds and Hawley Warren suffered gunshot wounds. Both were 16 at the time. Police arrested them inside the store, and they were taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital for treatment. Both were carrying guns, police said.

Both are charged with aggravated robbery with gun specifications that could add three years to any sentence they may receive if they are convicted. One is detained in the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center. The other is on house arrest because of medical issues, apparently related to the shooting.

Behind them as they entered the store were the two other boys, ages 15 and 16, who did not have guns and were not hit by gunfire. They were 15 at the time. They fled the store but police captured them outside, said detective Ronnie Barber of the Youngstown Police Department.

Both are charged with complicity to aggravated robbery and a gun specification. Both are detained in the juvenile justice center.

The store employee fired several shots, hitting one of the suspects twice, the other once. The employee was not charged with any criminal offense, Barber said.

A Youngstown police sergeant, Ed Kenney, described the incident shortly after it happened by saying, “Two men entered the store with their guns out.” The employee “was forced to fire on them” to protect others.

Reynolds and Warren may have looked like adults. A Youngstown police report lists Hawley as being 5 foot 9 and 200 pounds and Reynolds being 6 foot and 180 pounds. The two younger boys were listed as 5 foot 8 and 150 pounds and 5 foot 9 and 130 pounds.

Dellick has not ruled on whether to bind their cases over to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court for them to be tried as an adult.

The prison sentences the boys could get if they were tried as adults and convicted of the crimes is about 14 years.

Each of the four suspects is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in juvenile court at 10 a.m. Wednesday before Dellick.

Before the judge will decide whether to try the boys as adults, she would have to hold hearings to determine whether there is probable cause that the crimes occurred and determine whether the boys are amenable to rehabilitation in the juvenile system.

None of the four teens had any significant criminal history prior to the robbery, Barber said.

erunyan@tribtoday.com