NC Senate Budget to Cut $15 Million from Juvenile Justice Dept

The NC State Senate's budget is calling for a 10% cut to the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency.   The Senate is proposing cutting $15 million dollars from the juvenile justice budget which would mean less court counselors, eliminate beds in juvenile detention centers, hundreds of job losses, facility closures and cuts in education and prevention programs for juvenile offenders.

In 2010, over 3,000 juveniles were charged with crimes in Mecklenburg County!  If the state continues to cut funds from our legal system, it only harms the community.  As you know from this past weekend's events, our teenagers are out of control!  We may not be able to change behaviors in 'adult criminals' but we have a chance with the children!

The Senate votes on the budget proposal later this week!  Please contact your Senator and ask them not to cut funds from the Justice System!  The following Senator's serve Mecklenburg County:

• Daniel G. Clodfelter (District 37)
• Charlie Smith Dannelly (District 38)
• Malcolm Graham (District 40)
• Bob Rucho (District 39)
• Tommy Tucker (District 35)

Mint Hill Police Arrest High School Student with Weapons & Drugs

James Denton

James Denton, 17, is charged with two counts of bringing a weapon to school and one count of possession of marijuana after Mint Hill Officers found a knife, gun and marijuana in his vehicle on school property.

The incident occurred Tuesday morning around 8:15am in the CMS' Rocky River High School parking lot after police received an anonymous tip.

During the search of Denton's vehicle, Officers found over 17 grams of marijuana, a pellet gun (resembled a .45 caliber handgun) and a 12-inch Bowie knife.

12-Year Old Charged with Armed Robbery

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Robbery Unit Detectives are conducting an investigation into the robbery of a clerk at Boost Mobile, located at 4003 Rosehaven Drive in the Eastway Division. The incident was reported by the victim at 10:44 a.m., on Thursday, July 8, 2010.

Eastway Division officers responded to a call for service placed by the victim of a robbery who stated that a young boy stabbed her in the neck as she was showing him cell phones. The victim was alone inside the store with the suspect at the time of the robbery. Based on information that the victim was able to provide on the scene, the suspect inquired about some cell phones and as she began to display them to him, he stabbed her behind her right ear.

As the victim backed away from the counter, the suspect jumped the counter and continued to threaten her with the knife. The suspect then fled the store with two stolen cell phones. The victim called 911 to report the incident as she ran to the front of the store to alert a passerby that she had been assaulted and robbed. The passerby then gave chase after the suspect as he ran towards the Advenir Apartments, located nearby along Central Avenue. Eastway Division officers responded to Boost Mobile as well as to Advenir Apartments to search for the suspect. Once on scene, Officers were directed to an apartment inside the complex and took the suspect into custody at 11:09 a.m.

The victim was transported to Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries. As the suspect is a twelve year old juvenile, his information is being withheld.

Robbery Unit Detectives will sign a petition for a Secure Custody Order to be taken out on him. Once the Order is signed, the suspect will be transported to a juvenile detention facility, where he will face charges of Armed Robbery and ADW-IKISI. The two stolen cell phones were recovered inside the apartment into which the boy had fled.

Crime Scene Search responded to the scene collect physical evidence. The Helicopter Unit and the K-9 Unit responded to the scene as well to assist in the search for the suspect.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Gun Discharged in CMS 3rd Grade Class Room

CMPD Youth Crimes/Domestic Violence Unit Detectives are conducting an investigation regarding a juvenile student that discharged a firearm in a classroom at University Meadows Elementary School, located at 1600 Pavilion Blvd.

A teacher and other students were in the classroom when the incident occurred at 1:09 p.m. There were no injuries as a result of the incident.

The 8-year old juvenile was charged with Possession of a Weapon on School Grounds and was transported to the Gaston Regional Juvenile Detention Center. Detectives are still investigating to determine where and how the juvenile gained possession of the firearm. Crime Scene Search responded to the scene to photograph it and collect physical evidence.

Detectives with Youth Crimes/Domestic Violence along with Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) Law Enforcement were all on scene to assist with this on-going investigation.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600. Detective T. Johnson is the lead detective assigned to the case.

Mecklenburg County Juvenile Detention Center Closing

From WSOC-TV: State officials said it could be a month before they come up with a solution for what to do with juvenile offenders in Mecklenburg County.

Budgets cuts are forcing the county to close the Gatling Juvenile Detention Center on Sunday. State officials said Charlotte officers will now likely have to take the juveniles to Guilford County to find open beds. Two officers are needed to transport outside inmates out of the county.

"If (police) arrest two juveniles in one shift, there goes four patrol officers if you arrest them at different times," said Officer Adam Planty.

The state hopes to set up a system where Charlotte officers can drive to Gaston County and state officials would take the offenders the rest of the way to a detention facility, but that wouldn't start until April. More News @ WCNC

Arrest made in Wheatside Drive Arson Case

On Friday, July 11th, CMPD University City Division officers along with the Charlotte Fire Department and the Arson Task Force responded to a reported fire at 10347 Wheatside Drive .

The officers and detectives began canvassing the area looking any possible witnesses or suspects. Based on the investigation at the scene, officers were able to identify a suspect who confessed to starting the fire.

Today, a detective from the Arson Task Force obtained a juvenile petition for the suspect for Burning of Personal Property and officers took him into custody. Due to his age, the suspect’s name is not being released. The suspect was transported to Gatling Juvenile Center where he is currently being detained.

CMPD and the Arson Taskforce is still investigating the other arson cases on Wheatside Drive to determine if the suspect is involved in any additional cases. Since June 30, 2008, there have been 5 arson cases on Wheatside Drive.

Teenagers Arrested for Violent Robbery

UPDATE: 11/15/07: The two juveniles charged in this case were released to their parents from detention today. They will be tracked by a GPS electronic monitoring system.

On November 10th, a man was beaten and robbed by two black teenage males as he left the Piedmont Restaurant on South Blvd. The two suspects stole the victim's 2007 Audi after they violently attacked him. The victim was transported to the hospital with a serious head injury.

According to CMPD, officers located the victim's car less than two hours later on West Blvd. The vehicle was occupied by four teenage males. All four teens were arrested and brought to Police Headquarters for questioning. Teen Suspect I (Age 13) and Teen Suspect II (Age 14) confessed to the robbery and said they picked up the other two teens after the robbery. CMPD will not identify the suspects by name because they are juveniles.

Teen Suspect I & II told police they saw the victim get out of his new car and walk into the restaurant. The victim suffers from medical issues which cause him to walk slowly with a cane. The teens told police they waited outside the restaurant for the victim to eat his dinner. As the man exited the restaurant, Suspect I grabbed the victim from behind, lifted him up and threw him to the ground. The teen told police he heard the victim's head hit the concrete.

Teen Suspect II told police he thought the victim was dead because he did not move or say anything. The victim dropped his keys during the assault so the teens took the car and drove away. They later picked up their two friends in the stolen vehicle to go to a party...

NAACP-vs- Mayor McCrory

The NAACP is seeking an apology from Charlotte's Mayor Pat McCrory for a statement he made in a letter to city manager Curt Walton regarding the 4th of July. McCrory wrote, "...Too many of our youth, primarily African American, are imitating and/or participating in a gangster type of dress, attitude, behavior and action..."

Am I missing something here? Why is the NAACP upset with McCrory? As far as I am concerned, Mayor McCrory hit the nail on the head. If you take a look at juvenile crime in Charlotte... it IS the African-American males who are the majority of the offenders and most of them do dress like gangsters!

Is the NAACP going to continue to criticize McCrory or will they take action to help the struggling youth in this city? I think we need less talk and more action... More @ Observer

Juvenile Justice in Mecklenburg County

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officers have seen a tremendous spike in crimes committed by juveniles. However, the courts are not holding these kids accountable for their behavior. If you think the adult criminal justice system is bad, the North Carolina juvenile criminal justice system is far worse!

The juvenile court system was one of the topics we discussed with lawmakers in Raleigh last week. The state is responsible for funding the Department of Juvenile Justice; which includes the juvenile courts, programs and jails. If you read the following information, you will understand why this is such a serious issue in Charlotte and across the state of North Carolina.

CMPD Juvenile Arrest Stats (2006):
► Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested 4,284 juveniles in 2006.
► 168 of the juvenile arrests were for robbery.
► 20% of the juvenile arrests are suspected gang members.
► 20% of the robberies arrests are associated with gang activity.
► 4 juveniles were arrested for murder.
► 348 of the juvenile arrests were drug related.
► 451 juveniles were arrested for charges of murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.
► 928 juveniles were arrested for burglary, larceny, vehicle theft and arson.
► Most juvenile crimes are committed between the hours of 3:00-4:00pm on school days.
► When juveniles are arrested and taken to a detention center, they are not and can not be fingerprinted or photographed.

Here is the kicker… the Mecklenburg County Jail has 30 beds available for juvenile boys and 0 beds for juvenile girls. (A juvenile bed would be for any youthful offender under the age 16.)

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Stephens spoke to the Charlotte City Council on January 2, 2007 about the juvenile justice system in Mecklenburg County. He made it quite clear we have a serious disconnect in the juvenile system and these kids are getting away with it since the justice system doesn't punish them.

The following is what Chief Stephens told the City Council:

“It is very difficult to hold a young person accountable for almost any behavior that they engage in. If you steal a car, you are not likely to even see a judge in Mecklenburg County about that. That is a divertible offense. In fact, you can steal a whole bunch of cars before you actually have any time before a judge or before anything might potentially happen to you through the juvenile justice system.”

"I think that there should never be a time that a child commits any kind of serious crime that there is not some kind of consequences for that. What we have in our community in our state today is for the most part there are no consequences until you get so far down the road and so brazen and immune to the system that you are pretty much a lost soul by the time you get to the point where you qualify for any kind of intervention that has any consequences or any kind of meaning to it." Source: 1/2/07 City Council Meeting Minutes

If this is something that concerns you, please contact elected officials and let them know how you feel. Links: 2007-2008 Mecklenburg Delegation, NC Leadership, CinC's Elected Officials Info

Youth Crime Skyrockets in Charlotte

The Charlotte Observer published an article today highlighting the increase in juvenile armed robberies. According to the article, "Nearly 1 in 3 people accused of robbery in Charlotte last year weren't old enough to vote." The robbery suspects range from high school dropouts to straight 'A' students to athletes.

Last year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested 168 teens between the ages 13-17 on robbery charges. Police say arrests in this age group have increased 34% from 2005.

Some of the things these young criminals say to the police are outrageous: "I don't think most kids understand the consequences of what they are doing," Sgt. Kevin Barbee told the Observer. "We've had kids tell us, `All I did was rob them.' To me, that speaks volumes."

Charlotte is not the only city in the US facing the problem of juvenile crime. Cities in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina are experiencing the same upward trend of kids committing crimes. However, in other cities like Spartenburg, youth crime has decreased.

I believe there is hope if we find the right solutions. One thing I think we need to do is hold parents accountable. I know some kids are brought up in the best of households and end up in trouble. On the other hand, I believe many parents of youth offenders do not care. Often, the parents are criminals themselves or don't have the time or desire to set a good example.

Another parenting problem I've heard about from police officers, teachers and others is how parents have their head in the sand about their child's bad behavior. You know, "Not my child..." Any of the above behavior does not help any child become an asset to society.

Teenagers have two choices: They can live a high-risk life of crime or they can get an education or get a job and take responsibility for their actions. It is a parent or guardian's responsibility to do the best they can to steer their children in the right direction. If the parent is as irresponsible as the child, they should be help accountable.