Devlin indicted in Ownby kidnapping

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A Franklin County grand jury indicted Michael Devlin Wednesday on charges of kidnapping and armed criminal action for the Jan. 8 kidnapping of 13-year-old Ben Ownby.

Devlin was charged with Ownby's abduction and the 2002 kidnapping of then 11-year-old Shawn Hornbeck. Both boys were found in Devlin's Kirkwood apartment when police raided it Jan. 12.

The indictment is simply a procedural move that will transfer Devlin's case from Associate Circuit Court to Circuit Court, Devlin's attorney, Ethan Corlija, said.

Corlija said the Associate Circuit Court doesn't have the jurisdiction to hear a felony case like Devlin's. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for mid-March. A judge would have determined, in a public hearing, if the state had enough evidence against Devlin to justify sending it to circuit court for trial, Corlija said.

The indictment, in a closed grand jury proceeding, simply bypasses the need for a preliminary hearing, Corlija said.

Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Parks wouldn't comment on the indictment Wednesday. He said earlier this month that he would seek the indictment because it was more convenient than holding a preliminary hearing. There is a sitting grand jury in Franklin County to hear evidence in such cases, he said.

Devlin was initially charged with kidnapping Ownby. Parks wouldn't say why he was adding the armed criminal action charge, which alleges Devlin used a deadly weapon in the kidnapping.

Devlin is also facing charges of kidnapping and armed criminal action in Washington County, where Hornbeck was abducted. Devlin is facing 71 felony counts in St. Louis for restraining and forcibly sodomizing both boys.

Corlija said he expects indictments in both St. Louis County and Washington County. That means prosecutors in all three counties could present their evidence in secret grand jury hearings, avoiding public preliminary hearings.

Corlija and his partner Michael Kielty filed motions in all three counties to have the grand jury proceedings recorded by a court reporter. The motion was denied in St. Louis and Franklin counties, and has not been heard in Washington County.

While it's not common practice to transcribe grand jury testimony, Corlija said it could have provided a record to protect against prosecutorial misconduct.

Devlin is being held in the Franklin County jail in lieu of a $1 million bond.