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Judge Denies Bail For Teen Charged In Father's Murder

BEL AIR, Md. (WJZ)—A judge denies bail for the Harford County teenager accused of killing his dad.

Weijia Jiang has the latest on this complex investigation.

That teenager is being charged as an adult. In court Wednesday, he appeared very timid, polite and young. Prosecutors called him a serious danger to the community.

Robert Richardson III, 16, remains in police custody after a judge ordered him to remain behind bars without bail.

He confessed to killing his 58-year-old father in their family home on the 800-block of Moores Mill Road late Monday night, and then dumping the lifeless body into a pond.

In court Wednesday, Judge John Dunnigan said the issue is too serious for a bond to be considered. He also called Richardson a flight risk based on his actions after the shooting.

Police say he led them on a high-speed chase in Harford County.

"When the trooper approached, the vehicle fled away from him southbound on 24, traveling through the town of Bel Air," said Monica Worrell, Harford Co. Sheriff's Office.

Richardson crashed into a cinderblock wall outside a Bel Air church. That's when he admitted to the murder and told officers he hid the body in a pond behind his uncle's Aberdeen house.

At the bail review, prosecutors  also pointed to pending juvenile charges against Richardson for breaking and entering and for possessing drugs.

"My motherly instinct told me something was wrong," said a neighbor who doesn't want to be identified.

Neighbors believe the teenager acted out of desperation, and say his father would often have fits of rage toward his family.

"He'd be working on something in the yard, screaming, terrible cursing and horribly verbally abusive," the neighbor continued.

Charging documents name Richardson's sister as the one who alerted police to the shooting after he called her to tell her what was going on. She was in court as well and tells WJZ that some of that report is false.

Richardson faces several charges as an adult, including first-degree murder. And because his confession was videotaped, he could be eligible to receive the death penalty. The judge advised him of that in court.

A preliminary trial for Richardson is scheduled for next week.

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