YOUNGSTOWN — Two juveniles now are charged in the early Wednesday shooting of a girl in her bed in the 800 block of East Avondale Avenue.

Kasean R. Wilkerson, 16, of East Lucius Avenue, and Xavier Hile, 16, of Buckeye Circle, both had initial hearings Thursday in the Martin P. Joyce Juvenile Justice Center on charges of felonious assault and discharging a firearm at or into a habitation, school or safety zone. Both charges carry specifications that could add time to their detention if the allegations are found to be true.

Not-true pleas were entered for both boys during their hearings, and both were ordered to remain in juvenile detention. Their next hearings are not scheduled yet.

Youngstown police arrested both boys and a woman in a car shortly after the shooting. Wilkerson later admitted to being the one who fired the gun, the police report states.

Jana M. Cox, 25, of York Avenue NW in Warren, also was arrested following the shooting and placed in the Mahoning County jail, charged with felonious assault, shooting into a habitation and obstructing official business. She is expected to be arraigned today in Youngstown Municipal Court.

The victim was hit in the lower leg at 2 a.m. in a drive-by shooting at her house, police said. The home was hit at least 10 times by the gunfire, Youngstown police said.

She was in stable condition later at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

A Youngstown police report states an officer learned the vehicle involved in the shooting was a white sport utility vehicle with pinstriping, then spotted a white Chevrolet Trailblazer at a stop sign at Dickson Street and South Avenue.

The vehicle attempted to get onto Interstate 680 but stopped after the officer got behind the vehicle with lights and siren.

Hile was driving, Cox was in the front passenger seat, and Wilkerson was in the back seat. All three were escorted out of the vehicle. An officer closed a passenger door and heard the sound of a bullet shell casing hitting the ground and found it next to the door.

They also found a loaded handgun under the driver’s seat and two more shell casings outside of the car.

Youngstown police Chief Carl Davis spoke about the shooting later Wednesday, saying the victim was “at home in her bed when she was struck by a bullet from the gunfire that struck the home.” He added, “This has to stop and it will stop.”

erunyan@tribtoday.com