Miami

No Bond for Teen Charged in Rabbi's Murder

The teen arrested in the shooting death of a rabbi in North Miami Beach made his first court appearance Thursday where he was ordered held without bond.

Deandre Charles, 15, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted robbery with a deadly weapon in the August 2014 killing of Rabbi Joseph Raksin.

The attorney for Charles, Adam Goodman, argued for bond, "The judge made a ruling. We respect the ruling. We are objecting for the record right now. We think technically, he should be getting a bond. We don't think the state has proof of anything, other than filing a piece of paper."

That piece of paper is an indictment handed down by the grand jury two days ago, charging Charles with murder and attempted murder.

His family and friends were in court, making no comment on Thursday, but were adamant about his innocence when interviewed on Wednesday.

"The whole family feels bad about the incident, but her child has nothing to do with the incident at all," said Willis Archibald, family friend.

"He has an alibi, so I'm done. They already interrogated him twice and tried to pin it on him, and I'm done with it," said Blair Charles, suspect's mother.

Miami-Dade Police said 60-year-old Raksin was walking in the 800 block of Northeast 175th Street headed to his North Miami Beach temple when two young males approached him.

Raksin was shot during the altercation. He was airlifted to Jackson Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center where he died.

Police said they're still investigating the shooting and looking for more possible suspects.

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