Shit is wrong

[overthebow]

This has me shaking my head. I'm a parent, and this hurts my heart. The mother of this 10 year old boy seem to be in deep denial.

Seated between his attorney and his mother, the boy with a bullet hole in his arm looked every bit the 10-year-old he is.

Dressed in the child-size navy blue scrubs issued residents of the King County Juvenile Detention Center, the 4 ½-foot-tall boy sat silent as Seattle Police gang detective outlined his run-ins with police.

Since age 8, the child has had 13 contacts with police. He's alleged to belong to a gang, suspected in a five violent felonies, including kidnapping and robberies.

What brought the boy before a judge Thursday, though, are allegations that he and two of his brothers attempted to rob a teen aboard a Metro bus. The alleged robbery didn't go well for the youth -- police contend he shot himself in the arm with a gun he was attempting to steal from the teen.

Asked to detain the boy, King County Superior Court Judge Julia Garratt noted that she never conceived she would order a 10-year-old detained. Nonetheless, citing the boy's record of police contacts, she did exactly that.

"At this point in time," the judge said, "to protect the youth as well as for community safety, I can't in good conscience release him."

The boy's brothers -- aged 12 and 14 -- were also ordered held on suspicion of attempted second-degree robbery pending the filing of charges, expected Friday.

Describing the Tuesday evening incident, Seattle Gang Unit Detective Benjamin Hughey contended the youths were hanging out with the alleged victim minutes before the robbery attempt when they learned he was carrying what they thought to be an unloaded gun in his backpack.

As alleged victim -- a 17-year-old -- boarded the No. 7 bus, the three boys rushed to a Rainier Avenue South bus stop intending to get on the bus and steal the other boy's backpack, Hughey contended.

The 10-year-old had reached into the backpack when the 17-year-old grabbed him in a "bear hug," according to the detective's statement. As he did so, the .22 cal. pistol -- which was later determined to have an empty magazine but a single live round in the chamber -- discharged into the 10-year-old's arm.

Another youth -- a cousin of the 10-year-old and close friend of the older youth -- heard a bang and saw the boys pile from the bus and begin fighting, Hughey said in court documents. Speaking with police after the incident, the youth said he attempted to break-up the fight.

At 7:50 p.m. Tuesday, two police officers driving on South Henderson Street near Rainier Avenue South spotted five people involved in a fight, among them the 10-year-old and his two brothers

Two Seattle police officers approaching Rainier Avenue from South Henderson Street spotted the five youths as they fought near the bus stop.

As they approached, the alleged victim attempted to run from the scene but was apprehended immediately, Hughey said in court documents. A .22 cal. pistol with a spent cartridge in the chamber was found in the bag, which appeared to have been shot through.

Speaking outside of court, the 10-year-old's mother offered a different account of her son's shooting, claiming the alleged victim instigated the altercation.

The woman, who seattlepi.com is not naming in the interest of protecting her child's identity, claimed her boys were headed home from football practice when the 17-year-old threatened the youngest boy.

She contended her other sons were defending their brother during the fight outside the bus.

"What would you do if your brother was attacked?" she asked following Thursday's hearing.

Authorities, she continued, were "railroading" her 10-year-old.

"I just want him to come home so I can take care of him," she said.

Addressing the court, Deputy Prosecutor Julie Kline argued that the boy, like his brothers, had shown "an escalating pattern of criminal conduct" prior to the shooting on a public bus.

Had he not been suspected in the shooting, the 12-year-old boy was due in court Thursday for a pre-trial hearing on an unlawful gun possession charge. Hughey also said the youth is a suspect in several strong-arm robberies.

His older brother was released from electronic home monitoring earlier in the week to attend a community event, which he missed.

Prosecutors expect to file attempted robbery charges in the cases Friday. The 10-year-old could also face an unlawful gun possession charge.

Due to his age, prosecutors will have to show that the 10-year-old boy is mature enough mentally to form criminal intent and distinguish between right and wrong, said Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecutor's Office. A hearing on the issue would follow a charging decision.

 

[RoryN]

The compassionate person in me is moved.

The realist says, "Write mom & son off for good, and concentrate on people who stand a chance."

 

[DormantEvil]

Take them out into the wilderness, and make them hike and camp until they make it back to civilization. Make it take at least a month, walking all day, carrying their own packs and shit. Get them out of the city, away from that mother and away from all the crap most city kids grow up with.

Not saying that growing up in the city = turning into that, but city life for pre-teens and teens is boring.

Make them all cry, make them hurt and make them actually do it. If the mother doesn't have the guts to get them out and doing something more than being little shits, send them out there with ex-military instructors to tear them a new one.

Seriously, sometimes the parents should be convicted along with the children.

 

[where]

This has me shaking my head. I'm a parent, and this hurts my heart. The mother of this 10 year old boy seem to be in deep denial.

denial or complicity?

 

[Spider Rand]

Sad as hell. If those kids are not locked away, they'll likely end up killing people. If the mom isn't locked away, she'll probably breed and(I use the term loosely) raise, more of them.