PA Vowed to Treat Children Differently. Instead, They Tried 13-Year-Old Nolan as an Adult.
The Issue
From day one, Nolan never had a chance in York County. The local media and prosecutors painted a picture that stripped away his innocence before a jury was even selected, forcing a child into adult state prison for 16 to 32 years over a tragic accident.
Local news outlets often just copy what the police and DA tell them. When the local news outlets, police press releases, and social media pages plaster a child's face everywhere on day one, the public forms a narrative before the defense even gets to speak. Long before the jury ever walked into that York County courtroom in May 2025, the media had already painted a picture of a malicious shooter, stripping away the legal presumption of innocence.
This overwhelming public narrative directly poisoned Nolan's chances in two major ways:
When the media runs sensational headlines about a tragedy, it puts intense political pressure on the local District Attorney’s office. To look "tough on crime," prosecutors often dig their heels in. The media circus made it much harder to win the decertification battle at age 13, because the county was terrified of the public backlash if they sent a high-profile case down to the rehabilitative juvenile system.
Even though jurors are told to ignore the news, they live in the community. They saw the headlines. When the prosecution stood up and introduced the flawed audio theory—claiming the background clicking was Nolan "dry-firing" a Kel-Tec .380 from his pocket—the jury was already primed by months of media coverage to believe Nolan was a hardened, malicious teenager instead of a child caught in a tragic accident .
The Direct File: Treating a 13-Year-Old as an Adult
The foundational truth of how Nolan was treated starts with Pennsylvania’s Statutory Exclusion laws. Under PA law, if a person is charged with any degree of murder, the case cannot start in juvenile court, regardless of age.
The York County Action: The York County District Attorney's office automatically filed the charges against 13-year-old Nolan directly in the adult Court of Common Pleas. From day one, the county chose to treat a child—whose brain and understanding of consequences were completely undeveloped—under the exact same rigid legal standards as a 40-year-old adult.
Nolan’s defense team fought to have his case sent down to juvenile court, which is a process called decertification. In juvenile court, the focus is on rehabilitation, and he would have been released by age 21.
The York County Action: To keep Nolan in adult court, York County prosecutors had to convince a judge that Nolan was "not amenable to treatment" in the juvenile system. They used the tragic nature of the shooting and the false narrative about his behavior leading up to it to argue that he was too dangerous for juvenile rehabilitation. The county successfully blocked him from getting the age-appropriate help and protections built for children. Nolan prior to all this was a great kid, he had never been in trouble before, he wasnt a "outkast", he had friends, he had decent grades, he was your typical 13 yr old boy, how is someone who had never been in any trouble "not amendable to treatment" they didnt even give him a chance.
On September 11th, Nolan turned 17 behind adult bars. We are launching this petition to expose the truth about how the county manufactured their narrative. They told the jury Nolan pointed a gun at two girls, but both girls testified under oath that they never saw Nolan with a gun and never heard him speak. But because the key witness "said nolan did it" they still charged nolan with 2 counts of Reckless Endangerment for the 2 girls. The lead homicide detective withheld information, he stated that he was "unaware when Nolan washed his hands". He was aware, in fact Nolan asked to use the bathroom while at the PSP barrack while being processed, The detectives let Nolan use the bathroom, and never said dont wash your hands. it wasnt until Nolan came out asking for papertowels to dry his hands that the detectives asked him "Did you wash your hands?" Isnt it proper bathroom etiquette to wash your hands after going to the bathroom? This created an issue as to Nolan hadnt had his fingerprints or GSR swab done yet, But yet the rumor mill and media was reporting that Nolan and Kain had gotten to in a verbal fight about Kains mom, supposely Kain told Nolan to Shut up and Nolan replied back with " you know what will happen secs before shooting Kain, and then they said that nolan tried to cover it up, by returning the gun to the wall flag, changing his clothes and taking a shower, when in fact, it was another lie, Nolan and Kain werent fighting about Kains mom, All 3 boys had been doing "Your Momma Jokes" all day with each other why because that is what boys do, Nolan went returning to his dads house, did return the gun to the wall flag, at the same time nolan was having a asthma attack, he had on a hoodie and pants, the asthma attack trigger a panic attack and nolan felt like he was overheating and couldnt breathe, so he took the hoodie and pants off and put a tshirt and shorts on, all while trying to get a hold of his dad and his gf who was a strip club in harrisburg when all of this happen.
They claimed background noise was Nolan clicking a gun in his pocket with his pinky finger , and a Kel-Tec .380 is mechanically incapable of being dry fired and it takes 6.4lbs of pressure to pull the trigger, something nolan wouldnt of been able to do with his pinky finger, the clicking noise in the background was from the bb gun the key witness had repeatedly pulling the trigger while bullying and tormenting the victim.
The Mechanics of a Kel-Tec .380: A Double-Action-Only Kel-Tec .380 handgun cannot be repeatedly dry-fired or clicked. To make that noise repeatedly, a person must manually rack the steel slide back to reset the internal hammer before every single pull. Furthermore, the Kel-Tec .380 requires a stiff, heavy 6.4 pounds of pressure to pull the trigger. It is physically impossible to effortlessly pull the trigger with just your pinky finger.
While the jury was deliberating they had a question, "Is it legally relevant whether or not nolan believed the gun was loaded, bullet in the chamber." Nolans defense team argued that it was stating . The Trial court wanted to know why that part was revelant . Defense stated Nolan indicated that he was under his belief the gun would of been unloaded at the time, the issues isnt whether the gun was loaded or unloaded, its what nolans belief was." Trial court responded with no, and told the jury " If you find that Nolan intentionally pointed the gun at Kain without knowing for certainty that it was not loaded, then you may find that Nolan acted with malice. But thats your decision, you have to review all the facts of the case and decide was the gun pointed or wasnt the gun pointed. Whether Nolan knew for certainty whether it was loaded or not is not necessarily a factor for determining malice. Thats what the case law will tell us.
3rd degree murder in the state of Pa is defined as "Third-degree murder is an unintentional killing caused by extreme recklessness or dangerous conduct."
Involuntary Manslaughter in the state of Pa is defined as "Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another person caused by reckless, grossly negligent, or unlawful behavior."
Malice in the state of Pa is defined as "Malice aforethought is the legal mental state required to prove a charge of murder, meaning the intentional and unjustified plan to cause death or serious harm before committing an act." in simple terms, a disregard for human life that isnt reckless or negligence. The defense's arguement wasnt whether or not Nolan was innocent, "It was Yes Nolan had the gun, Yes Nolan Knew better, Yes Nolan was a dumb reckless teen, But what its not is the 3rd degree murder."
To make matters worse, a county court reporter accidentally typed the defense's sidebar objection under the prosecutor's name, and the higher court used that muddled paperwork as a loophole to dismiss his appeal. the higher court also stated that "They ruled that because his lawyer used the phrase "inverse instructions" at sidebar rather than the exact phrase "strict liability," the argument was legally waived."
Theres nothing to argue, Nolan' s case was so messed up, and relied souly on the word of the key witness whos story changed numerous times, even Nolans defense team was able to get on the record of the key witness "uncreditable testimony" "Key Witness told the police that he never touched the .380, that in fact was a lie, the Key Witness did in fact play with the .380 on 2 different occassions that night. Isnt that called perjury, Perjury is the criminal offense of willfully telling a lie or making a material misrepresentation while under oath.
York County got me once, they aren't getting me again, from the begining we were told to stay quiet, dont say anything, dont respond to anything on social media, its your best defense. Well that is actually what hurt us, no one knew Nolans side, for 18 months I listen to and read all the hate, lies, false info, death threats, rumors on social media about Nolan from people who didnt even know him. Grown Adults with kids the same age as Nolan, wanting an eye for a eye, to hang him, the death penalty etc, Adults who didnt know anything about the incident other than what the media reported, or the rumor mill fuel, they were too brainwashed to see anything else, "It could of been any one of them that night, Nolan didnt target Kain" And I had one question, " What would you do if it was your kid in Nolans shoes, would you defend and protect him cause that is what a parent is suppose to do or would you just turn your back on them leaving whatever happen to them up to the commonwealth. Nolan's character was assassinated. I never one said my son didnt do it or was innocent, In fact I said the opposite, Yes Nolan had the gun, Yes Nolan knew better, Yes Nolan was reckless, Yes Nolan was a dumb Teen age boy that fell victim to peer pressure, that want and need to fit in and be the cool kid, overrode everything Nolan knew But Nolan shouldnt spend half his life in prison when he has a life sentence in his head and simply because Nolans case is text book Involuntary Manslaughter not 3rd degree murder. Which I agreed Nolan needed to be held accountable absolutey but 16-32 years is overkill.
We are refusing to stay silent about what York County did to Nolan and our family. Please click the link, sign our petition, and help us expose the truth: https://c.org/2PngcmGyNX
I have proof of everything, And Im willing to provide the neccessary documents to show all this is true.
To the average outsider who hasnt never been in trouble with the law, you wouldnt know how truly broken the judical system is unless you have went through it or had a loved one go through it. And just because the police and D.A said you did it, doesnt mean you did it and if by chance you did do it, it isnt how they said you did it.
#ExposeYorkCounty
#JusticeForNolanGrove
#OurSystemIsTerriblyBroken
#JusticeReform
#JuvenileJusticePA
#PaBrokeItsPromise
#VowedtoProtectOurChildren
#EndDirectFileforChildren
15
The Issue
From day one, Nolan never had a chance in York County. The local media and prosecutors painted a picture that stripped away his innocence before a jury was even selected, forcing a child into adult state prison for 16 to 32 years over a tragic accident.
Local news outlets often just copy what the police and DA tell them. When the local news outlets, police press releases, and social media pages plaster a child's face everywhere on day one, the public forms a narrative before the defense even gets to speak. Long before the jury ever walked into that York County courtroom in May 2025, the media had already painted a picture of a malicious shooter, stripping away the legal presumption of innocence.
This overwhelming public narrative directly poisoned Nolan's chances in two major ways:
When the media runs sensational headlines about a tragedy, it puts intense political pressure on the local District Attorney’s office. To look "tough on crime," prosecutors often dig their heels in. The media circus made it much harder to win the decertification battle at age 13, because the county was terrified of the public backlash if they sent a high-profile case down to the rehabilitative juvenile system.
Even though jurors are told to ignore the news, they live in the community. They saw the headlines. When the prosecution stood up and introduced the flawed audio theory—claiming the background clicking was Nolan "dry-firing" a Kel-Tec .380 from his pocket—the jury was already primed by months of media coverage to believe Nolan was a hardened, malicious teenager instead of a child caught in a tragic accident .
The Direct File: Treating a 13-Year-Old as an Adult
The foundational truth of how Nolan was treated starts with Pennsylvania’s Statutory Exclusion laws. Under PA law, if a person is charged with any degree of murder, the case cannot start in juvenile court, regardless of age.
The York County Action: The York County District Attorney's office automatically filed the charges against 13-year-old Nolan directly in the adult Court of Common Pleas. From day one, the county chose to treat a child—whose brain and understanding of consequences were completely undeveloped—under the exact same rigid legal standards as a 40-year-old adult.
Nolan’s defense team fought to have his case sent down to juvenile court, which is a process called decertification. In juvenile court, the focus is on rehabilitation, and he would have been released by age 21.
The York County Action: To keep Nolan in adult court, York County prosecutors had to convince a judge that Nolan was "not amenable to treatment" in the juvenile system. They used the tragic nature of the shooting and the false narrative about his behavior leading up to it to argue that he was too dangerous for juvenile rehabilitation. The county successfully blocked him from getting the age-appropriate help and protections built for children. Nolan prior to all this was a great kid, he had never been in trouble before, he wasnt a "outkast", he had friends, he had decent grades, he was your typical 13 yr old boy, how is someone who had never been in any trouble "not amendable to treatment" they didnt even give him a chance.
On September 11th, Nolan turned 17 behind adult bars. We are launching this petition to expose the truth about how the county manufactured their narrative. They told the jury Nolan pointed a gun at two girls, but both girls testified under oath that they never saw Nolan with a gun and never heard him speak. But because the key witness "said nolan did it" they still charged nolan with 2 counts of Reckless Endangerment for the 2 girls. The lead homicide detective withheld information, he stated that he was "unaware when Nolan washed his hands". He was aware, in fact Nolan asked to use the bathroom while at the PSP barrack while being processed, The detectives let Nolan use the bathroom, and never said dont wash your hands. it wasnt until Nolan came out asking for papertowels to dry his hands that the detectives asked him "Did you wash your hands?" Isnt it proper bathroom etiquette to wash your hands after going to the bathroom? This created an issue as to Nolan hadnt had his fingerprints or GSR swab done yet, But yet the rumor mill and media was reporting that Nolan and Kain had gotten to in a verbal fight about Kains mom, supposely Kain told Nolan to Shut up and Nolan replied back with " you know what will happen secs before shooting Kain, and then they said that nolan tried to cover it up, by returning the gun to the wall flag, changing his clothes and taking a shower, when in fact, it was another lie, Nolan and Kain werent fighting about Kains mom, All 3 boys had been doing "Your Momma Jokes" all day with each other why because that is what boys do, Nolan went returning to his dads house, did return the gun to the wall flag, at the same time nolan was having a asthma attack, he had on a hoodie and pants, the asthma attack trigger a panic attack and nolan felt like he was overheating and couldnt breathe, so he took the hoodie and pants off and put a tshirt and shorts on, all while trying to get a hold of his dad and his gf who was a strip club in harrisburg when all of this happen.
They claimed background noise was Nolan clicking a gun in his pocket with his pinky finger , and a Kel-Tec .380 is mechanically incapable of being dry fired and it takes 6.4lbs of pressure to pull the trigger, something nolan wouldnt of been able to do with his pinky finger, the clicking noise in the background was from the bb gun the key witness had repeatedly pulling the trigger while bullying and tormenting the victim.
The Mechanics of a Kel-Tec .380: A Double-Action-Only Kel-Tec .380 handgun cannot be repeatedly dry-fired or clicked. To make that noise repeatedly, a person must manually rack the steel slide back to reset the internal hammer before every single pull. Furthermore, the Kel-Tec .380 requires a stiff, heavy 6.4 pounds of pressure to pull the trigger. It is physically impossible to effortlessly pull the trigger with just your pinky finger.
While the jury was deliberating they had a question, "Is it legally relevant whether or not nolan believed the gun was loaded, bullet in the chamber." Nolans defense team argued that it was stating . The Trial court wanted to know why that part was revelant . Defense stated Nolan indicated that he was under his belief the gun would of been unloaded at the time, the issues isnt whether the gun was loaded or unloaded, its what nolans belief was." Trial court responded with no, and told the jury " If you find that Nolan intentionally pointed the gun at Kain without knowing for certainty that it was not loaded, then you may find that Nolan acted with malice. But thats your decision, you have to review all the facts of the case and decide was the gun pointed or wasnt the gun pointed. Whether Nolan knew for certainty whether it was loaded or not is not necessarily a factor for determining malice. Thats what the case law will tell us.
3rd degree murder in the state of Pa is defined as "Third-degree murder is an unintentional killing caused by extreme recklessness or dangerous conduct."
Involuntary Manslaughter in the state of Pa is defined as "Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another person caused by reckless, grossly negligent, or unlawful behavior."
Malice in the state of Pa is defined as "Malice aforethought is the legal mental state required to prove a charge of murder, meaning the intentional and unjustified plan to cause death or serious harm before committing an act." in simple terms, a disregard for human life that isnt reckless or negligence. The defense's arguement wasnt whether or not Nolan was innocent, "It was Yes Nolan had the gun, Yes Nolan Knew better, Yes Nolan was a dumb reckless teen, But what its not is the 3rd degree murder."
To make matters worse, a county court reporter accidentally typed the defense's sidebar objection under the prosecutor's name, and the higher court used that muddled paperwork as a loophole to dismiss his appeal. the higher court also stated that "They ruled that because his lawyer used the phrase "inverse instructions" at sidebar rather than the exact phrase "strict liability," the argument was legally waived."
Theres nothing to argue, Nolan' s case was so messed up, and relied souly on the word of the key witness whos story changed numerous times, even Nolans defense team was able to get on the record of the key witness "uncreditable testimony" "Key Witness told the police that he never touched the .380, that in fact was a lie, the Key Witness did in fact play with the .380 on 2 different occassions that night. Isnt that called perjury, Perjury is the criminal offense of willfully telling a lie or making a material misrepresentation while under oath.
York County got me once, they aren't getting me again, from the begining we were told to stay quiet, dont say anything, dont respond to anything on social media, its your best defense. Well that is actually what hurt us, no one knew Nolans side, for 18 months I listen to and read all the hate, lies, false info, death threats, rumors on social media about Nolan from people who didnt even know him. Grown Adults with kids the same age as Nolan, wanting an eye for a eye, to hang him, the death penalty etc, Adults who didnt know anything about the incident other than what the media reported, or the rumor mill fuel, they were too brainwashed to see anything else, "It could of been any one of them that night, Nolan didnt target Kain" And I had one question, " What would you do if it was your kid in Nolans shoes, would you defend and protect him cause that is what a parent is suppose to do or would you just turn your back on them leaving whatever happen to them up to the commonwealth. Nolan's character was assassinated. I never one said my son didnt do it or was innocent, In fact I said the opposite, Yes Nolan had the gun, Yes Nolan knew better, Yes Nolan was reckless, Yes Nolan was a dumb Teen age boy that fell victim to peer pressure, that want and need to fit in and be the cool kid, overrode everything Nolan knew But Nolan shouldnt spend half his life in prison when he has a life sentence in his head and simply because Nolans case is text book Involuntary Manslaughter not 3rd degree murder. Which I agreed Nolan needed to be held accountable absolutey but 16-32 years is overkill.
We are refusing to stay silent about what York County did to Nolan and our family. Please click the link, sign our petition, and help us expose the truth: https://c.org/2PngcmGyNX
I have proof of everything, And Im willing to provide the neccessary documents to show all this is true.
To the average outsider who hasnt never been in trouble with the law, you wouldnt know how truly broken the judical system is unless you have went through it or had a loved one go through it. And just because the police and D.A said you did it, doesnt mean you did it and if by chance you did do it, it isnt how they said you did it.
#ExposeYorkCounty
#JusticeForNolanGrove
#OurSystemIsTerriblyBroken
#JusticeReform
#JuvenileJusticePA
#PaBrokeItsPromise
#VowedtoProtectOurChildren
#EndDirectFileforChildren
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Petition created on September 13, 2026