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A Miami judge hearing testimony Thursday about pre-trial prison conditions for a 13-year-old Hialeah boy charged with the first-degree murder of his mother.
The judge is deciding if Derek Rosa should stay in an adult prison or be transferred to a juvenile facility.
A corrections officer from Metro West where the boy is being housed testified that Rosa is under protective custody and is "flourishing."
Corporal Wimbs testified that Rosa is able to regularly speak with his family and is constantly monitored by mental health specialists who look for red flags.
Rosa's attorneys asked the judge to transfer him to the juvenile detention center because he is the youngest of 34 juveniles being held at the new juvenile section at Metro West.
Rosa is accused of stabbing his mother, 39-year-old Irina Garcia, to death in October.