Oregon Public Broadcasting

A juvenile court judge has allowed an 11-year-old Portland boy out of detention.  The boy is accused of carrying a loaded gun on a light rail train last week, and threatening a woman with it.

As Rob Manning reports, officials hope to send the boy to live with his aunt.

The 11 year-old boy is headed to a foster home. Late Monday it was looking increasingly likely that he'd be with his aunt.

But certain conditions were crystal clear: his alleged violent threat means he'll have to follow a safety plan and wear a GPS tracking device. He's prohibited from contacting his alleged victims, or a boy referred to as his "co-defendant."

The boy wiped away tears as he listened to lawyers debate his fate.

The boy's attorney advocated placement with his mother, Shaquita Louis. The boy is related to the late Yashanee Vaughn, a 14 year-old girl who was killed last year.

Louis choked back tears as she said she and her son could get through that grief together, with support.

But Louis admitted to the judge that her son could get more structure with his aunt.

All sides agreed that juvenile detention wasn't ideal.  The 11 year-old's attorney said that the experience was "retraumatizing" the boy.