PORTLAND — A Waldo County teenager charged with murder in 2022 will be tried as an adult after his appeal to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court was denied Dec. 3.

Atilio Delgado was 16 when he was charged in relation to the shooting death of 49 year-old James Cluney, of Brooks. Waldo County Judge Charles Dow ultimately determined to bind Delgado over for trial as an adult, rather than allowing him to be tried and sentenced as a juvenile. Instead, Delgado will be tried as an adult in Waldo County Superior Court for the charge of murder, which comes with a possible sentence of 25 years to life should he be convicted.

According to Maine Legislature, a bind-over hearing means a hearing at which the Juvenile Court determines whether to permit the State to proceed against a juvenile as if the juvenile were an adult.

In the meantime, Delgado has been held at Long Creek Youth Development Center, in South Portland. It is Maine's only secure juvenile facility.

LCYD acts as a detention center for pre-adjudicated youth being held for court appearances or trial, and a detention center for those juveniles who have already been convicted of a crime. The convicted juveniles serving sentences at LCYD will be released by, or on, their 21st birthday. 

The penalty associated with a juvenile conviction was determined to be inappropriate for Delgado, as Judge Dow did not think it reflected the seriousness of the crime.  

According to the memorandum of Supreme Judicial Court’s decision, the court carefully considered the factors set forth, and attached particular significance to Delgado’s age at the time of the order and the risk that it would be unsafe — and would diminish the gravity of the charged offense. 

“Contrary to Delgado’s contentions, (1) because a bind-over order does not itself imposed any punishment, the court did not punish Delgado for his exercise of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by considering his lack of candor with a juvenile community corrections officer,” and, “(2) the court’s findings are fully supported by competent evidence in the record, whether through direct evidence or reasonable inference. (3) Those findings do not compel a conclusion that Delgado proved the inappropriateness of prosecuting him as an adult."

The briefs were submitted Nov. 25, with a decision returned Dec. 3. 

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com