Capitol Tech U Doctoral Presentation - April 2024.pptx
Juv delinquency
1.
2. Car Chase Leads to Officer
Death; Teen to Be Tried as Adult
0 Three teenagers involved in high-
speed police chase.
0 Teens had earlier tried entering a bar,
had been doing cocaine, and drinking
beers.
0 Two teens fired guns into the air,
allegedly trying to scare off a group of
men.
0 Cops showed up after being alerted of
gun shots and the teens ran.
0 Officer Diego Moreno laid out a spike
strip and was hit by an officer
pursuing the teenager’s vehicle.
3. Charges
0 Felony murder charge
against 16 year old
Emiliano Garcia (driver)
0 Being tried as an adult
0 Two teen passengers
charged as juveniles
with unlawful gun
possession and one teen
faces a drug possession
charge.
4. A National Problem
0 Adults tried in juvenile courts
0 Kent v. United States
0 In re Gault
0 Calls to get rid of the
juvenile justice system
0 Juvenile firearm possession
0 85% of adolescent
homicide-related deaths in
2010 involved firearms
0 Higher homicide rates
overall in the US versus
other countries
0 Especially for youth
5. Theory of Differential
Association
0 Youth learn behaviors by
interacting with
significant others, often
family and peers.
0 If a juvenile is
surrounded by negative
influences who support
criminal behavior, he or
she is more likely to
offend.
6. Gun Control
0 Buying a gun should be
at least as rigorous as
buying a car.
0 Licensing and training
0 Banning at-risk persons
from buying firearms.
7. Observations
0 A young life forever
altered by poor choices
0 Hope for rehabilitation.
0 Influence of peer group
can be detrimental
0 Ways this crime ties to
gun control
8. Summary
0 3 teenagers involved in
crimes that resulted in
officer death
0 Theory of differential
association
0 Possible gun control
laws to help prevent
future crimes
9. Works Cited
0 Carter, P. M., Walton, M. A., Newton, M. F., Clery, M., Whiteside, L. K., Zimmerman, M. A.,
& Cunningham, R. M. (2013). Firearm Possession Among Adolescents Presenting to an
Urban Emergency Department for Assault. Pediatrics, 132(2), 213–221.
http://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-0163
0 Gehrke, R. C. (2016). "Get tough on juvenile criminals": An assessment of punitiveness
and punitive attitudes (Order No. 10137878). Available from ProQuest Dissertations &
Theses Global. (1803636273). Retrieved from
http://excelsior.sdstate.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-
com.excelsior.sdstate.edu/docview/1803636273?accountid=28594
0 Gregory, S., & Wilson, C. (2018, March 22). Gun Violence in the U.S.: 6 Real Ways We
Can Help Reduce It. Retrieved July 25, 2018, from http://time.com/5209901/gun-
violence-america-reduction/
0 Ho, S. (2018, July 24). Star Tribune. Teen charged as adult after officer killed in car
chase. Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/teen-charged-as-adult-after-
officer-killed-in-car-chase/489242041/
0 Regoli, R., Hewitt, J., & DeLisi, M. (2014) Delinquency in society(9thed.). Burlington,
MA: Jones & Barlett Learning
Editor's Notes
A Washington state car chase ended in the death of a police officer. Three teenagers were consuming alcohol and doing cocaine in a parking lot in Seattle when the teens allegedly shot guns into the air. The teens claimed the shots were fired as a tactic to scare off a group of men. As the police showed up, the teens fled the scene and led the police on a high speed chase reaching speeds up to 95 miles per hour. An officer utilized a spike strip and was struck by a police car that was in pursuit of the vehicle carrying the teenagers. Officer Diego Moreno was killed and the officer who hit him suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Ho, S. (2018, July 24). Star Tribune. Teen charged as adult after officer killed in car chase. Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/teen-charged-as-adult-after-officer-killed-in-car-chase/489242041/
The 16 year old driver, Emiliano Garcia, is being charged with a felony murder charge. It has been reported that Garcia will be charged as an adult. The other two teenage passengers are facing misdemeanor charges for unlawful gun possession and one of the teen will face a misdemeanor drug possession charge.
Ho, S. (2018, July 24). Star Tribune. Teen charged as adult after officer killed in car chase. Retrieved from http://www.startribune.com/teen-charged-as-adult-after-officer-killed-in-car-chase/489242041/
According to an article by Richard Gehrke rulings like Kent v. United States (1965) and In re Gault (1967) gave juveniles the right to the same due process rights, the right to legal counsel as adult, right to cross-examination and confrontation, privilege against self-incrimination, right to a transcript of the trial record, and right to appellate review. These changes transformed the role of juvenile courts and made them more like a mini-adult system and caused some to get rid of the juvenile justice system because it no longer fulfilled it’s original intent of rehabilitating youth (Gerhke, 2).
As far as fatalities from high speed car chases involving juveniles, there was not much information available on these types of statistics as it is not a common occurrence. We can, however, look at the instances of teens with unlawful gun and drug possession. The statistics on gun possession with youth aged 10 to 24 years old is shocking. 85% of adolescent homicide-related deaths were by firearms in 2010 (Carter). Homicide rates in the United States are 19.5 times higher than other industrialized nations and 42.7 times higher for youth in the United States than 22 other developed countries (Carter).
Carter, P. M., Walton, M. A., Newton, M. F., Clery, M., Whiteside, L. K., Zimmerman, M. A., & Cunningham, R. M. (2013). Firearm Possession Among Adolescents Presenting to an Urban Emergency Department for Assault. Pediatrics, 132(2), 213–221. http://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-0163
Gehrke, R. C. (2016). "Get tough on juvenile criminals": An assessment of punitiveness and punitive attitudes (Order No. 10137878). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1803636273). Retrieved from http://excelsior.sdstate.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.excelsior.sdstate.edu/docview/1803636273?accountid=28594
I chose to reflect on Edwin Sutherland’s theory of differential association in relation to this story in the news. According to our text, the theory of differential association argues that we learn behavior by interacting with our significant others, usually peers and parents(Regoli, Hewitt, & DeLisi, 152). The theory supports the idea that if a juvenile is surrounded by people who support criminal conduct, he or she is more likely to commit crime than someone who has positive associations (Regoli, Hewitt, & DeLisi, 152).
I chose this theory because of the three juveniles who were committing crimes together. It seems likely to me that one or more of the teens likely learned these delinquent behaviors through their peers, perhaps even through each other. Because the story is relatively recent and and the offenders are juveniles, there does not appear to be much information on the teenager’s backgrounds.
Regoli, R., Hewitt, J., & DeLisi, M. (2014) Delinquency in society(9thed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Barlett Learning
I’ll focus on gun control for this slide, because it was the firing of guns that caused the police to respond to the scene where the high speed chase started. I’ve found the ideas for reducing gun violence in an article from Time that focuses on six ways that gun violence could be reduced in America, but I’ll focus on two that I feel could begin helping to keep guns out of the hands of teens. While many may argue that the guns are already out there and if a criminal wants to obtain a firearm, they will do so through illegal means, I believe that stricter gun laws would have a long-term effect on reducing gun violence.
Time suggests that buying a gun should be at least as rigorous as buying a car (Time). There should be a requirement for a license to own a gun and some form of training to help ensure that people are responsible for the firearms they own (Time). I feel that this training could provide lessons on how to keep guns locked up and protected so adolescents do not get their hands on them. Another recommendation is the passage of laws that would allow law enforcement to temporarily bar an at-risk person from buying firearms (Time).
Gregory, S., & Wilson, C. (2018, March 22). Gun Violence in the U.S.: 6 Real Ways We Can Help Reduce It. Retrieved July 25, 2018, from http://time.com/5209901/gun-violence-america-reduction/
I personally chose to use this story because I could not find a recent story in South Dakota that dealt with a juvenile being tried as an adult. The discussion on juveniles being transferred to adult courts was very interesting to me, so I wanted to focus on a case that dealt with that situation.
I feel that it’s sad when a juvenile is tried as an adult because it is going to negatively affect their whole life, but I can understand why this may be necessary in a case like this where extremely poor judgment ended up causing someone’s death. What bothered me most about this case was that the driver who is being tried in adult court for a felony murder charge did not go out with the intention of hurting anyone. It was an accumulation of bad decisions that led to a horrific outcome.
Edwin Sutherland’s theory of differential association made sense to me. As a high school student I hung out with the party crowd that could have found themselves in a lot of trouble on numerous occasions if the cops had shown up. It’s not that difficult for me to see myself being in a car where something like this would have happened so fast and resulted in someone’s injury or death. I was often influenced by peers and a family that had also had their share of legal troubles. I could not help but wonder what type of influences these teens had in their lives and I hope there is some chance for rehabilitation for them.
I think the solutions slide that I included on gun research could be confusing for some because it doesn’t seem to relate to the way the officer died, but as I stated earlier, the gun shots were what initially alerted the police to the scene of the original crime. I think what we can take away from this, is that guns seem to cause problems often when in the wrong hands and it’s hard to argue that making them less available wouldn’t have any positive effects on lowering the occurrence of crimes or injuries that involve guns.
Three Washington teenagers involved in illegal gun and drug possession lead police on a chase that ended in the loss of one police officer’s life. While the driver of the vehicle will be tried as an adult for a felony murder charge, the two other teens face misdemeanor drug and gun possession charges.
One can’t help but wonder how these juveniles got to the point where they were involved in these types of crimes. I used Edwin Sutherland’s theory of differential association to try and make sense of the influences that could have brought these teenagers to this unfortunate place. While there is obviously sympathy for the police officer’s family, I also hope for a chance for these juvenile offenders to rehabilitate and be reintegrated into society at some point.
I also looked at the use of guns in this crime. As the guns caused the cops to show up at the scene, I couldn’t help but wonder if crimes like this could be prevented if our country didn’t have such a long history of the excessive and easy availability of guns.
