Today, Thurdsday, February 21st, 2013 I attended the sentencing hearing for the juvenile delinquent that plead guilty to 8 burglaries in our neighborhood. As I sat in the courtroom and waited for him to be brought in (he was shackled and was led in by the bailiff from the front of the courtroom) I was overcome with grief as I sat there thinking of the events that had led me to the courtroom this morning. Before that fateful day when he decided to bust down my back door and burglarize my home I felt completely safe and secure in my home and my neighborhood. And now here I was sitting in a courtroom getting ready to face the 14 year old boy (the Magistrate said he was 14) who had stripped me of the peace that we all should feel in our homes and communities. There were such strong emotions taking over every fiber of my being that I started to tear up and eventually started to cry. I was struggling with the thought that this juvenile delinquent may be let loose onto our streets in as little as 6 months after the emotional pain and monetary loss that he has caused to so many people.
When he arrived the Magistrate began the proceedings. The first person who got to speak was his probation officer. The juvenile had been given a psychological evaluation and based on the results of that evaluation and her own personal experiences with JD (juvenile delinquent) she recommended that he be held in a half-way house for the minimum six months and be given the opportunity to be rehabilitated.
At that time the Prosecutor got to speak. He informed the Magistrate that I was there and wanted to speak. As I took the stand I began to shake. My voice was crackling and I was trying to make sure that I got to say everything I had to say. I can not express in words how gratifying it was to look JD in the eye and tell him all that he has cost me and my son, the other victims and our community. I pointed out that after his arrest back in November after the first 4 burglaries that as soon as he got out of jail he was back out terrorizing the neighborhood and commiting the other 4 burglaries. I said that he knew at the time he was doing the robberies that what he was doing was wrong but he continued to do it anyway. I pointed out that he was bragging on his facebook page and said on one of his status updates that he did not intend to stop. I also said that I did not think there was any way that after only 6 months that JD would be rehabilitated. I spoke for a few minutes but I can't remember what else I said. It was emotionally overwhelming.
After I finished the Prosecutor addressed the court. He told the Magistrate how many victim impact statements he had received back (which she received a copy to read before the hearing I think this was just so JD and the others in the courtroom were aware) and how much money he had cost each victim for the victim's that did not turn in a statement but that he had verbally spoken with. He also pointed out that after JD's first arrest that he got out and went right back to burglarizing people. Also, since JD had been in custody he had been in numerous altercations with other inmates and also had gotten charged with a disorderly conduct. He then said that he recommended giving JD the maximum sentence (which I found out today was one year per charge of which he plead guilty to 8 felonies in total).
Next JD's attorney got to address the court. He first pointed out that the purpose of the Juvenile Court is not to punish but rather to rehabilitate juvenile offenders. He then pointed out that JD has a very low IQ (I believe he said it was only 75) and that the result of the psychological evaluation proved that he knew what he did was wrong and that he was very remorseful. (The more this man talked the sicker I got to my stomach!) He then said that JD had a horrible childhood and that his father was gone from home a lot and his stepmother was very mean to him although not abusive. He said his client needed a nurturing environment which would be condusive to him getting educated and rehabilitated which he felt could not be done in the juvenile prison. And he argued that the altercations that JD had been involved in were when he was first incarcerated and at that time he was placed in a cell block with older inmates. Once JD was moved to a cell block with inmates closer to his age he had only been in one altercation. Also JD's mother lives in California and he said as soon as he gets out of jail he will be going to live with her. He asked that his client be sent to the half-way house for the minimum of 6 months and that he be given credit for the 3 months he has already served.
At this time JD's father got to speak. He said that he whole-heartedly agreed with the recommendation of JD's probation officer and his attorney. According to his own father he had always had behavior problems, even from the time he was very young, and that he believed the half-way house would be a better place for his son to learn from his experience and to get educated so that he can be a productive member of society. The whole time the father was speaking the stepmother was crying. Then she got to speak and just said she agreed with the father.
Now the Magistrate asked JD if he would like to say anything. He just said he was very sorry for what he did to all the families. That was all he said.
Once JD was finished the Magistrate asked him a few questions. She said that she could see that he stole the almost identical items from every home (mostly electronics). She asked him what they did with the items once they stole them. He said that most of them were in the apartment where the police found the stolen items and that almost all of it was recovered by the police (I know I for one got back NOTHING!). She said that she had the evidence that they had been selling the stuff mostly on Craigslist and she knew very few people got back many items. At this point the Magistrate took about five minutes to review everything. Those were five very long minutes!
When she started to announce his sentence I became increasingly nervous. JD's probation officer and attorney had tried to paint the picture of a choir boy instead of the out of control delinquent that he is! She said that she agreed that he needed to be educated and rehabilitated. From the tone of her voice I just knew he was only getting the 6 months! Then she said "however"... that perked me right up! However she said she did not feel that could happen in 6 months time nor did she trust leaving him in a half-way house where he would not be in a locked cell from which he could not escape. For three of the felonies she gave him one year each to be served consecutively in the juvenile prison. For the other 5 she gave him one year total to be served concurrently with the other sentences. She also ruled that she would not give a judgment for restitution for the victims because it would be futile.
I spoke with the Prosecutor after the hearing and he said he thinks JD's attorney will appeal the ruling and try to get the sentence reduced. He also said that even though the Magistrate sentenced him to a minimum of 3 years that his attorney could file a request for an early release at any time.
I left the courthouse today flooded with a wide array of emotions. I was ecstatic that he did not get the minimum sentence, disappointed that he did not get the maximum sentence and mentally exhausted from the entire ordeal from start to present. Starting the Block Watch and writing this blog has helped me to heal.
One thing I did tell JD was that if and when he gets out that we have a Block Watch and if he comes around this area again he will never get away with it because we are watching for him and his kind and that it would be in their best interest to stay away from our neighborhood!!!
Thank you all for your continued support and for getting involved.
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