By Shereen Siewert
The third of four teenage suspects accused of beating a 15-year-old Wausau boy with a baseball bat, leaving him critically injured, has been waived into adult court.
Jordan T. Meyer, 15, faces charges filed Oct. 22 in Marathon County Circuit Court. Meyer, who has been held in the Marathon County Juvenile Secure Detention Facility, is faced with two counts of physical abuse to a child – intentionally causing great bodily harm by use of a dangerous weapon.
Brendan W. Griffin, 15, and 17-year-old Michael Hrobsky have also been charged in adult court in connection with the July 1 attack. A fourth juvenile suspect has been arrested but has not yet been waived into adult court, which means the charges against him are sealed at this time.
Griffin, who was formally charged as an adult earlier this month, allegedly told police that the sound of the victim’s head being struck by the bat sounded like “hitting a dinger in a baseball game,” according to the police report.
The attack was reported at about 10:30 p.m. July 1 in the 600 bock of Chicago Avenue after a resident heard a loud “ting” of a baseball bat, then saw people getting out of a dark sedan and beating the 15-year-old victim, according to the criminal complaint. The victim’s friend took off running and escaped, police said.
About 10 days later, investigators spoke with another witness who told police he had observed a SnapChat social media post on the day of the attack of four males wearing bandanas covering their faces and holding baseball bats. The witness identified all four people in the media post.
A second witness told police he spoke with the four suspects on the day of the attack and he became aware that the boys were going somewhere to beat someone up. Later, he saw the teens again and heard them brag about “having beaten someone up,” according to the complaint.
The mother of the victim tells Wausau Pilot and Review her son spent weeks in the intensive care unit but has since been released.
Meyer is being held on a $150,000 cash bond. A preliminary hearing is set for Dec. 13.
