Judge says accused teen killer in Ali Elbanna case to be tried as adult

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A husband and father to five children was shot to death in a Dallas Costco parking lot as he was packing up his groceries last year on Nov. 16.

Since then, Ali Elbanna's family has been fighting for justice. 

The accused shooter is 16-year-old Camron Range. While a juvenile, Elbanna's family wanted Range to face a harsher sentence due to the severity of the crime as he faces a capital murder charge. 

"The crime he committed was so grave, not just the murder itself but then last week we learned this individual had been committing violent crimes since the age of 12," said Iman Elbanna, one of Ali's daughter. 

So Iman and her family wanted Range tried as an adult. 

Judge Cheryl Shannon agreed after listening to both the defense and prosecution on Friday. 

"This is a small victory, to say the least, but using the word victory of course doesn't feel right," added Iman, "Unfortunately this is just the beginning of what will be a really difficult journey but judge Shannon did the right thing and agreed that obviously the juvenile justice system can't handle this person."

The state argued Range has been in and out of the juvenile justice system in Dallas since he was 12-years-old and every time he was let out he kept getting into trouble and is a danger to society if let out early. During the time of this shooting, Range was on probation with an ankle monitor that wasn't working.  

The defense argued that Range could go to a state juvenile rehab facility where there are other violent offenders to get help. 

But Judge Shannon ruled Range hasn't shown he has learned from his actions and should be tried as an adult. 

"We can take some comfort in knowing that he wont be back on the streets soon," said Iman. 

As the family awaits the next hearing, they hope this case highlights the need for juvenile justice reforms in the state. 

"This sheds a light on our justice system and also at the law at hand, and maybe there needs to be amendments made for cases such as these so there's a precedence in the future that violent crime, that a history of violent crimes should mandate that any juvenile that commits such crimes be moved to the adult court, that there shouldn't be a 50/50 chance," said another one of Ali's daughters, Stephanie Elbanna. 

Judge Shannon recommended his bond be set at $500,000.