A suspect in the brutal February attack on a local teen has now been officially booked into the Scioto County Jail, facing a slew of serious charges including attempted murder, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery.
Waylon Cooley, previously unnamed due to his age, has now turned 18 and was taken into custody last Friday. He’s accused of playing a central role in a vicious ambush near the New Boston Walmart that left a teenage boy stabbed and fighting for his life.
The disturbing incident, which rattled the local community, involved five suspects who allegedly lured the victim to the shopping center under false pretenses. According to a GoFundMe set up by the victim’s family, the teen thought he was helping someone in need by offering to buy shoes—but instead, he was stabbed and left bleeding in the parking lot while his car was stolen.
The victim was airlifted to Columbus for emergency surgery and has been recovering since.
Cooley was initially processed through the juvenile justice system, as Scioto County does not have a juvenile detention facility and had to transport him and another underage suspect from Ross County. However, with his recent birthday, he is now being treated as an adult and has joined two other suspects already in the county jail.
Zander Daniels and Shelby Broughton, both 18, were indicted in February on a long list of charges stemming from the same incident, including Attempted Aggravated Murder, Kidnapping, and Aggravated Robbery. Both were declared indigent and assigned public defenders. Their bonds were set at $1 million each, and they remain behind bars, awaiting a pretrial hearing on June 20 in Scioto County Common Pleas Court.
As for Cooley, no court date has yet been set, and no official filings have appeared in the public docket. It remains unclear whether he’ll be tried as an adult or if motions are still pending.
This is a developing story, and we’ll bring you updates as more information becomes available.
