Latest news with #teencrime
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Angelic face of Georgia girl, 17, accused of brutal murders of mom and stepdad that left sister, 5, orphaned
A teen girl brutally killed her mom and stepdad in Georgia, leaving her five-year-old sister orphaned, according to police. Sarah Grace Patrick, 17, was charged with the February shooting murders of her mother Sarah and stepfather James Brock in their home in Carrolton, 45 miles west of Atlanta. She was 16 at the time of the murders and will be charged as an adult, as reported by 11 Alive. Police spent months collecting evidence after the crime. It is unclear what specifically led to Patrick's arrest on Tuesday, but Patrick's tearful speech at her mother's funeral was a piece of key evidence, per officials. 'Mountains of evidence have gotten us here today,' said Carroll County communications director Ashley Hulsey at a press conference announcing the arrest. She added: 'The pursuit of justice does not end today... It is very possible that because this remains an open and ongoing investigation that more arrests and charges could be made.' Hulsey said a motive has yet to be determined, and it's still unclear whether other family members were involved in the killings. 'We don't know what goes through the mind of a child who wants to harm their parents,' the official said. 'She's 17. She's kind of been out on her own. She's lived with different family members and moved all over the place.' Patrick's little sister was the first to find her parents dead in their bed, before Patrick called 911. There were no signs of forced entry in the home and nothing had been taken. Hulsey said: 'A mother and a stepfather will never be able to raise their children and the little girl that was in the home, to me she's probably the saddest victim in all of this.' The official added that James Brock had been waiting on a heart transplant when he was killed. For months after the killings, Patrick was posting about the murders on social media and begging for help finding the killer. One of her TikToks from March, shows various images of her mom and stepfather alongside the words: 'They don't know it but a year from now me and my 5-year-old sister would find them wrongfully shot dead in our home and won't get to watch me graduate high school, see me walk down the aisle, and couldn't even say goodbye.' In the posts caption, Patrick wrote: 'I miss you guys, save a seat for me in heaven.' Patrick turned herself into police, accompanied by her father, after she learned there was a warrant out for her arrest. Police say they are still digging for more information on the case and more arrests are possible.
The Sun
05-07-2025
- The Sun
Staggering number of times UK's worst teen tearaway was arrested by cops before his 18th birthday revealed
THE nation's worst teenage tearaway was nicked by police 153 times before his 18th birthday. A Sun on Sunday probe found there are 25 child criminals who have been arrested 50 times or more. 2 Essex was the worst for prolific youth offenders with the top three all from the county — each detained more than 100 times — and six in the top ten. South Yorkshire overall had five children with 50 or more arrests, with the worst offender having their collar felt 94 times between the ages of 12 and 14. The shocking figures also reveal kids are being nicked for serious crimes including making murder threats, arson, sex offences, drugs and burglaries. One 17-year-old in Kent has 56 arrests including for stalking, sex offences, making death threats and having a knife. And a youth in Suffolk was held 76 times between the ages of 12 and 17 for racially-motivated crimes, assaults and strangulation. The Sun on Sunday made Freedom of Information requests to all 43 police forces in England and Wales. Several said they were unable to reply due to data protection, while at least four — including London's Met — had no kids arrested more than 50 times. Retired Sussex Police Det Chief Supt Kevin Moore said: 'Unfortunately, the figures do not surprise me at all. For far too long there has been a lack of an effective sanction for juvenile offenders. 'Youths realise they can offend with impunity as there is little likelihood of a custodial sentence. 'We need to get a grip of this. Custody is a deterrent.' Brutal stabbings of teenagers, machete brawls in the street, and drug gangs stalking kids on the school run - the crime and violence tearing Woolwich apart 2
CBS News
02-07-2025
- CBS News
Five teens arrested for alleged carjacking in North Baltimore, three had on ankle monitors, police say
Five teens were arrested for an alleged carjacking in North Baltimore Tuesday. Around 11:08 a.m. on July 1, officers responded to the 900 block of West 36th Street for a report of a carjacking. When they arrived, they learned that a 41-year-old woman had been approached by a male suspect, who assaulted her and forcefully took her keys from her hand. Medics responded to the scene and transported the woman to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police said they put out a vehicle description over the air around 2:20 p.m. and were able to locate the suspects occupying the vehicle in the 1100 block of Kenilworth Drive in Towson, Maryland. Officers arrested two 14-year-old males, a 15-year-old male, a 13-year-old female, and a 17-year-old male. Police learned that three of the five suspects were wearing ankle monitors due to their involvement in prior crimes. Repeat offenders and crime in Baltimore City Last week, a 14-year-old repeat offender was arrested for a violent crime spree in Northwest Baltimore. On June 22 around 6:47 a.m., police said the teen was linked to a carjacking in the 5300 block of Perring Parkway. In May, the same teen was placed on GPS monitoring for stealing a car, crashing it, and injuring several people. After that incident, the teen allegedly robbed a grocery delivery driver at gunpoint in the 1200 block of Woodbourne Avenue near The Alameda. Police see rise in teen arrests Charges for teen offenders have risen, according to Baltimore State's Attorney Ivan Bates. In May, police arrested a 15-year-old repeat offender on GPS monitoring for kidnapping and robbing a 12-year-old victim on his way to school in East Baltimore. In 2022, 303 teens were arrested and charged with teen offenses in Baltimore City, according to Bates. The number rose to 637 in 2023, and in 2024 it reached 1,126. How are leaders working to curb youth crime? Last month, Bates introduced a crime plan that he says is focused on accountability, fairness, and collaboration with city departments. The plan includes a new prosecution diversion program, which allows an individual facing certain charges to participate in a supervised program instead of facing prosecution. To fully enact the plan, Bates will need a partnership with the Department of Juvenile Services.
CBS News
16-06-2025
- CBS News
Teen charged with possessing loaded gun during teen takeover in Naperville, officials say
A teenage boy was charged with having a loaded gun during a teen takeover in Naperville, Illinois, over the weekend, the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office announced. The 14-year-old from Naperville was charged with one count of unlawful possession of a weapon. The office said on Saturday, shortly after 7:30 p.m., while patrolling the area of Washington Street and Jefferson Avenue during the takeover, an officer saw the teen acting suspiciously. The officer confronted the teen and conducted a pat-down. During which, they found a loaded 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun in his waistband. He was then arrested. The teen appeared at his detention hearing Monday morning, where he was ordered to be released on home detention with electronic monitoring. He is due back in court on June 27.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Adult or juvenile murder charges? Here's latest in Clovis teen killing trial
In the Spotlight is a Fresno Bee series that digs into the high-profile local issues that readers care most about. Story idea? Email tips@ Two 16-year-olds in Fresno County were recently accused of the premeditated killing of Clovis teen Caleb Quick and many, including District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp, have called for the teens to face an adult trial. Whether they will be charged as adults is a significant undertaking that will not likely be decided quickly, according to experts. Fresno attorney Kathy Bird is the defense attorney for Byron Rangel, who was accused of being the gunman who sought out the 18-year-old Quick on April 23 before shooting him in the head outside of a McDonald's near Willow and Nees avenues. The teen faces a charge of murder and an enhancement for lying in wait. Also charged in the case was Cassandra Michael, 16, who police said was the getaway driver. She also faces an enhancement as a co-participant in a crime involving a gun. The two 16-year-olds were dating. The Bee is naming the juvenile defendants after Judge Amythest Freeman on May 14 denied requests from their attorneys to withhold their names, entering them into the public record. Two-and-half weeks after the fatal shooting, the two Clovis Unified students turned themselves into police in Clovis on May 9. Rangel's next hearing is June 4, and Michael's is June 18. The Fresno County District Attorney's Office has made the request to try them as adults, but it's up to a judge to decide. Multiple attorneys who spoke with the Fresno Bee laid out the process for how the judicial system weighs that request. The teen must be at least 16 to face an adult court under Proposition 57, which voters passed in 2016. Two years later, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1391 to move the minimum age up to 16 from 14. The alleged crime must also be an 'enumerated offense,' which basically means a more serious alleged crime like murder, rape, carjacking or robbery at gunpoint. A judge will hold a transfer hearing in which the prosecutors and defense attorneys make their arguments on why the teen should be moved to an adult court or stay in the juvenile system. The transfer hearing in juvenile court is much more similar to a juvenile criminal proceeding than a preliminary hearing in adult court is to an adult criminal trial, according to Michael McKneely, a veteran Fresno attorney with experience in homicide trials in both juvenile and adult courts. 'They hear evidence, they hear witnesses and things like that,' he said. 'A transfer hearing is a lot like an actual juvenile trial, because although there are is a focus on the five key criteria, there's also a focus on the factual basis as well.' He was referring to the five factors a judge weighs in a juvenile transfer hearing: Totality of the circumstances and seriousness of the crime. The degree of sophistication of the crime. The likeliness of rehabilitation of the teen. Previous history of delinquency. Success of previous attempts at rehabilitation. Both Rangel's attorney and Jeff Hammerschmidt, Michael's attorney, described their clients as teens from decent families who had no previous delinquency. As part of the transfer hearing, juvenile probation officials will be asked to make a recommendation on the transfer. The judge can use it in their decision but is not required to follow the recommendation. The defense will have the teens evaluated by psychiatrists, including looking into whether they had adverse childhood events that may have led them to act out differently than a well-adjusted teen. None of this happens quickly. All of the factors in the case would likely come out during many court hearings over months or longer. A case involving a 17-year-old accused of quadruple homicide in Reedley in January 2024 is ongoing, and the court has not yet determined if he should be tried as an adult. A decision has also not been made on a 17-year-old accused of killing and dismembering a man in Mendota in April 2024. Members of the community can grow impatient in the process, and show frustration that the decision takes so long. McKneely stressed that the public should be patient and allow the system to work to come to a full determination. 'I don't know anybody, outside other than the police or the prosecutors or the defense attorneys, who knows enough about the circumstances of the offense to be able to knowledgeably say whether you know this kid or the girlfriend really are irredeemable,' McKneely said. The most glaring difference a teen faces in adult court is the severity of the punishment. As adults, Michael would face 26 years to life for participating in the slaying while Rangel would potentially be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, prosecutors said. As juveniles, they each face up to seven years of confinement or up until they turn 25, prosecutors said. Hammerchmidt said the difference between how the courts handle a juvenile case and an adult case are 'absolutely huge.' The courts in juvenile cases lean heavily on diversion, when the court prescribes treatment or programs to correct a person's actions rather than a jail sentence. 'The purpose of the juvenile court is rehabilitation rather than punishment,' he said. 'Sometimes punishment is part of it but it's less of an emphasis.' There has been an evolving perspective in California of how the courts treat young people who commit crimes. Prop. 57 and SB 1391 are examples of that. In 2020, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office took the additional step of not sending any minors to adult court as part of their own policies. Even 18 can be seen as too young to handle adult consequences. Some science shows that a person's brain does not finish developing until mid- to late 20s, and the Supreme Court made note of that in its decision in Graham vs. Florida in 2010 in which the justices ruled life sentences cannot be given to minors who commit 'non-homicide crime.' California also holds youth offender parole hearings for anyone younger than 26 when they committed a crime, a law that went into effect with Assembly Bill 1308 in 2018. 'Courts are catching up with brain science,' Bird said.
