A teenager accused in a string of drive-by shootings in March was charged as an adult this week with attempted murder.

Patrick Carl Timberlake, 17, of Minneapolis, was formally certified as an adult after the state Court of Appeals reversed a District Court decision that Timberlake should be tried as a juvenile for the March 5 shootings.

In the sternly worded order issued in December, the Appeals Court cited Timberlake's violent past, lack of improvement in his behavior through earlier juvenile justice programming, and the "extreme gravity" of the alleged offense.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear the case. Charges were filed the next day.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office charged Timberlake with six felony counts of attempted second-degree murder for the benefit of a gang. The charges came nearly a year after prosecutors alleged he was the gunman in a series of gang-related shootings within a span of five hours in north Minneapolis. One victim was shot in the shoe, while another was shot in the neck but survived.

Prosecutors say the targets were connected to rival gangs of the Skitz Squad, a clique formed by Timberlake that was later linked to last summer's death of 5-year-old Nizzel George, who died when a bullet pierced his grandmother's house. Alleged Skitz Squad member Stephon Shannon is serving a 28-year prison sentence for George's death, while a second defendant, Julian Kijuan Anderson, is being tried in the boy's death.

Timberlake remains in the Hennepin County jail in lieu of $1 million bail. His next court appearance is March 22.

Abby Simons