Whether Rangel will remain in the Fresno County juvenile justice system or be transferred to an adult criminal court will be decided by a judge, who will compare the Fresno County District Attorney\u2019s Office case against a high standard laid out in state law<\/a>.<\/p>\n Police said Rangel used a .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum revolver outside a McDonald\u2019s where Quick was known to meet up with other teens for a weekly gathering they called \u201cFry Night.\u201d Prosecutors alleged Rangel was aided by his girlfriend, Michael, who acted as the getaway driver.<\/p>\n Police also accused the girl of helping to plan the killing and aide its cover-up.<\/p>\n Defense attorneys involved in the two separate cases brought against the accused teens say a Fresno County judge will make their finding for Rangel independently and unbiasedly without weighing what transpired in the decision and arguments made in the Michael case, which was decided by Fresno County Superior Court Judge Kimberly A. Gaab.<\/p>\n \u201cLegally, it shouldn\u2019t affect (Rangel\u2019s case),\u201d said Sally Vecchiarelli, one of Michael\u2019s attorneys.<\/p>\n Michael\u2019s other attorney, Jeff Hammerschmidt, said judges are expected to maintain an unbiased perspective on cases, and often avoid media coverage. Hammerschmidt himself is running for a judge job in Fresno<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey purposely do not watch the media about cases they might be involved with,\u201d Hammerschmidt said. \u201cIt makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n That said, a judge has not so far been assigned to the Rangel case, and it could be assigned to the same judge, Gaab, who heard the Michael case.<\/p>\n The Rangel transfer hearing is expected to be significantly different from the Michael transfer hearing, according to Kathy Bird, an attorney for Rangel. Michael\u2019s case focused more on what Michael knew about the killing and its planning.<\/p>\n Bird said Rangel\u2019s hearing should have a greater focus on the five factors that determine whether an accused juvenile should be tried as an adult or minor. She noted the facts presented in the Michael case should be largely the same given the DA\u2019s Office will call many of the same investigators and present the same evidence.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does change is the role the person \u2014 Byron \u2014 took in the case. That changes obviously for the judge and the factors that the judge looks at individually on Byron,\u201d Bird said.<\/p>\n In a transfer hearing, the judge does not determine guilt through witnesses and evidence. The judge starts the hearing assuming the juvenile is guilty, and determines whether the teen is amenable to being rehabilitated. That determines if the teen can stay in the juvenile system or be treated as an adult offender.<\/p>\n Tried as an adult, Rangel could potentially be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, prosecutors have said. As a juvenile, he faces up to seven years of confinement or up until he turns 25.<\/p>\n The burden of proof to transfer a young offender to an adult court falls on prosecutors. The judge will weigh the degree of sophistication of the crime, seriousness of the crime, likeliness of rehabilitation for the juvenile, previous history of delinquency and success of earlier attempts at rehabilitation.<\/p>\n But perhaps the greatest bar to clear in order to get their request granted is the DA\u2019s Office must show that Rangel cannot be rehabilitated. It was a major factor in the decision to leave Michael in juvenile custody, according to the judge.<\/p>\n Bird said she believed Rangel has shown he is open to rehabilitation.<\/p>\n \u201cByron is doing very well in custody and really showing that he\u2019s maturing, and he\u2019s become extremely thoughtful about his future and how he reacts to people,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a ton of growth in Byron and his maturity, and he\u2019s not as reactive as a 15- (or) 16-year-old would be.\u201d<\/p>\n Stephen Quick, the father of Caleb, said he has reasonable expectations about the looming transfer hearing. He wants to see Rangel face an adult criminal court.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2018m not hopeful,\u201d Quick said. \u201cI don\u2019t know this kid\u2019s backstory, and it seems like it doesn\u2019t matter what these kids do. The court says they\u2019re rehabilitatable, and it\u2019s up to the district attorneys to prove they\u2019re not, and it\u2019s really difficult to prove a negative.\u201d<\/p>\n The murder trial for Michael was set for July 28<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n