At least one homeless teen is among a group of three people arrested by Georgia police. The teenage boys were brought in on allegations of theft, criminal damages and possession of a firearm during a crime. Only one of the teens will be charged as a minor while the other two will face charges as adults.
The boys — aged 16 and 17 years old — are accused of being involved in a string of vehicle thefts. Police believe they mostly targeted vehicles that were left unlocked by owners, from which they reportedly took sunglasses, loose change, a tablet and various other items. Firearms were also allegedly taken from unlocked vehicles. Those firearms — none of which have been recovered by police — were apparently used to shoot at three of the involved vehicles, at least one of which was later found down an embankment. The total damage to the vehicles has been placed at somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000.
After the arrests, police interviewed each boy separately and claimed that they all pointed to each other as being the primary individual responsible. Additional interviews rendered what police say were confessions from all three, which led to them being charged. The 16-year-old who is being charged as a juvenile reportedly has a smaller criminal history than the other two, who will be tried as adults.
The consequences for a juvenile conviction can vary greatly from those for an adult, although both can have lifelong impacts on defendants. Whether a defendant perceives a criminal charge for theft as being a serious matter or not, it is rarely too early to begin strategic planning for a defense. For some, this might mean negotiating a plea deal with the prosecution in exchange for lesser charges or a more favorable outcome. Other defendants in Georgia find that they can achieve the best outcome possible by fighting their charges to the fullest extent throughout the entirety of trial court proceedings.
Source: northwestgeorgianews.com, “Teens charged with rash of vehicle break-ins in Rossville“, Josh O’Bryant, June 7, 2016
