Teen craigslist suspect pleads not guilty in juvenile court

AKRON, Ohio - The Stow teen suspect in a deadly scheme to rob people who replied to a craigslist job ad has pleaded not guilty to several new charges.

The case of Brogan Rafferty, 16, was transferred to his home county of Summit, 100 miles from the rural southeastern county where jobseekers were promised work.

Rafferty entered the not guilty plea Monday in Summit County Juvenile Court, where his case was transferred late last week.

The Summit County Prosecutor's Office said Rafferty has been charged with juvenile counts of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, attempted murder and kidnapping.

Earlier, prosecutors in Noble County said Rafferty would be tried as an adult. But since Rafferty turned down a plea deal, they transferred the case to Summit County and essentially, the process starts over.

Summit County prosecutors filed paperwork requesting Rafferty be tried as an adult and bound over to Summit County Common Pleas Court. A hearing will likely be held before February to determine if Rafferty will be tried as an adult in Summit County.

If Rafferty will be tried as an adult locally, he would not be eligible for the death penalty because of his age. The maximum penalty Rafferty could face would be life in prison without parole, instead of just a few years in a juvenile detention center.

An adult suspect, Richard Beasley, faces the death penalty if convicted of similar charges.

Prosecutors believe Ralph Geiger was the first of Beasley's and Rafferty's victims in August 2011.

-Ralph Geiger, 56, from Akron, was shot and killed on Aug. 9, 2011. His body was found along a rural road.

-David Pauley, 51, from Norfolk, Va., was shot and killed on Oct. 23, 2011. He was later found buried in a shallow grave.

-Scott Davis, 48, from South Carolina, was shot on Nov. 6, but escaped the crime spree. He then called police.

-Timothy Kern, 47, from Massillon, was lured to the farm where he was shot and killed on Nov. 13. Kern's body was found Nov. 29 in a shallow grave near Rolling Acres Mall.

Beasley will be arraigned in Summit County Common Pleas Court on Jan. 25 at 8 a.m.

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, AP Legal Affairs Writer, contributed to this story.