Teenage boy pleads guilty in fatal shooting of officer

CLEVELAND (AP) — A 15-year-old boy charged in the fatal shooting of an undercover Cleveland detective and his informant last year has pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated murder.

Detective James Skernivitz, 53, and informant Scott Dingess, 50, were killed Sept. 3 in what authorities have said was a botched robbery. The two men were in an unmarked car preparing for a drug operation when a group of youths approached them and one fired several shots into the vehicle.

The 15-year-old, who did not fire any shots, entered his plea Monday and is due to be sentenced Aug. 31. Prosecutors said the counts carry sentencing enhancements that stipulate the boy must serve time in the state’s youth services facility until he turns 21. However, he won’t face charges as an adult and will testify against his five other co-defendants, including the alleged shooter, who have all pleaded not guilty.

Skernivitz, a married father of three and a 22-year member of the Cleveland force, had been sworn in as a member of a federal violent crime task force the day before he was killed. Authorities have not said whether he was working, either for the task force or for the gang unit to which he was normally assigned, when he was shot.

The teen, whose name was not released, is the first person to plead guilty in the case. His plea came the same day he testified at an ongoing hearing for a 17-year-old co-defendant to determine whether that youth should be tried as an adult.