SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for Abdullahi "Abdi" Mohamed, who was paralyzed as a teenager when he was shot by police last year, argued in court Monday that the criminal case stemming from the altercation should remain in juvenile court.

As a juvenile court judge considers whether to retain the case in the youth system or allow it to be transferred to district court where the now 19-year-old would face the charges as an adult, one witness claimed the court should take into account the permanent paralysis Mohamed suffered when he was shot.

"I can't imagine that being shot and almost dying wouldn't have had a big impact on my depression, on substance abuse, on trauma. … We can't downplay the significance of that event," said Rob Butters, assistant professor at the University of Utah College of Social Work.

The retention hearing continues Wednesday.

As a member of a refugee family that has struggled in Utah, and now paralyzed in a wheelchair since he was shot by a Salt Lake police officer in February 2016, Butters said there are unique circumstances in Mohamed's case that support keeping the case at the juvenile level.

There, Mohamed could continue working with a case manager who is already familiar with him, Butters said. He could participate in intensive outpatient treatment for substance abuse, specifically regarding his apparent risk for alcoholism. He could receive support for depression, and complete educational and vocational training.

Pushing Mohamed into the adult system, on the other hand, would restrict the services available to him, Butters said.

"The time to offer services to Abdi isn't when he's 35," he said. "It's right now."

Additionally, dropping juveniles at low risk of reoffending in with seasoned adult criminals can have a "contamination effect," Butters said, increasing the likelihood that youths will find themselves in trouble again.

According to Butters, Mohamed has responded well to treatment in the past, but once that supervision is gone, he finds himself in trouble again. He recommended incorporating counseling about how Mohamed can better spend his free time, rather than turning to drugs or drinking when he doesn't have something to do.

"He needs to be busier," he explained.

Butters backed his opinions citing research, including his own, regarding youth brain development, juveniles' decision-making abilities and the opportunities to help them improve themselves before they commit increasingly serious offenses.

"We used to believe we could just punish people and that would deter them from crime," he said, "but we have four years of research that says that doesn't work, and treatment does."

On cross-examination, prosecutor Mike Colby pressed Butters on whether he has ever recommended a juvenile case be transferred to the adult system. Butters answered that he has not, but that hypothetically he would consider suggesting it for cases involving serious offenses like homicide or rape and where the community could be put at risk if the juvenile were released.

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Body camera footage shown in court as case ordered to proceed against Abdi Mohamed

A judge has ruled there is probable cause that a man shot by two Salt Lake police officers last year was attempting to sell drugs to a man and then rob him when the shooting occurred.

While Butters acknowledged on cross-examination that Mohamed has found himself facing charges in the juvenile system several times in the past, the professor said he believes opportunities to help Mohamed have not been exhausted. Specifically, Butters said he believes work needs to be done with Mohamed's family.

"I still think there is family mistrust," he said. "I don't know if there have been enough interventions that target his whole social sphere."

Caring for refugees should be a community responsibility, Butters said.

Mohamed is charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, and drug possession with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony.

According to prosecutors, Mohamed, a Somali refugee, was attempting to sell drugs to a man near the homeless shelter on Feb. 27, 2016, and take the $1.10 the man was carrying. When the man resisted, Mohamed is accused of hitting him with a 3-foot aluminum broom handle, then disregarding police commands to drop the weapon.

Salt Lake police officers Kory Checketts and Jordan Winegar shot Mohamed four times as he advanced on the man. The officers said they believed Mohamed was about to use the metal broom handle to hit a man again when they fired.

Mohamed remained in a coma for weeks after the shooting, which was found to be legally justified in August.

The shooting drew sharp criticism toward both the police department's use of force and Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill's decision not to release the officers' body camera footage, and his decision to charge Mohamed in the incident.

According to Utah Juvenile Court records, Mohamed has had "15 delinquency offenses which were included in 12 episodes referred to juvenile court." Those offenses ranged from infractions to threatening to commit assault, a misdemeanor, multiple counts of felony theft, and aggravated assault using a weapon, a third-degree felony, when he was 12.

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