Teen charged in Sammy Sasso shooting released from custody 5 days before carjacking

• Two teens have been charged in the shooting and carjacking of Sammy Sasso
• It happened Aug. 18 in an alley not far from Ohio State University
• Sasso is a four-time All-American at Ohio State and two-time state wrestling champion from Nazareth Area High School

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A teen charged in the shooting and carjacking of star wrestler Sammy Sasso had been released from state custody in an unrelated criminal case five days before the attack, according to a report in The Columbus Dispatch.

A judge on Tuesday ruled the 16-year-old ineligible for release pending a trial in the Sasso case, the newspaper reported.

"At this time you will absolutely not be released," Common Pleas Judge Monica Hawkins said after hearing arguments in Franklin County Juvenile Court, the Dispatch reported.

Sasso, a four-time All-American at Ohio State who has a year of college wrestling eligibility remaining, was shot Aug. 18 not far from the Ohio State University campus. He is a Nazareth Area High School graduate and two-time Pennsylvania state wrestling champion.

Columbus police charged a 16-year-old boy and 15-year-old girl in the attack. They are accused of aggravated robbery and felony assault.

Sasso was shot in the stomach and the bullet caused nerve damage near his spine – an injury that will require the 23-year-old Sasso to have to learn to walk again. His family in a GoFundMe said Sasso is unable to walk unassisted.

According to police, Sasso was in an alley outside of his car and speaking with two children at 8:32 p.m. Aug. 18 when the suspects approached the vehicle, according to police.

A confrontation ensued and one of the suspects pulled a firearm and shot Sasso before the suspects got in his car and fled, according to a police report. Police recovered the car two days later.

A prosecutor in court Tuesday said the gun used in the Sasso shooting has not been recovered, the Dispatch reported.

The prosecutor said the 16-year-old had been in and out of several youth facilities this year. On April 6, he was transferred to a Ohio Department of Youth Services detention facility on a burglary charge and was to serve six months. He was released early on Aug. 13 for time he had already served, according to the newspaper.

The Dispatch reported the teen on Aug. 15 posted images depicting guns on Instagram. A parole officer soon after cited the teen for a parole violation.

The 15-year-old suspect has yet to have a court hearing.

Sasso is one of the best wrestlers ever to come from the Lehigh Valley. The GoFundMe, established by his family to support recovery expenses, had raised more than $132,000 of a $100,000 goal as of Wednesday.