A shocking criminal case in Georgia involves a 12-year-old boy charged with breaking into dozens of vehicles years before he is old enough to get behind the wheel.
Police in Griffin announced the arrest of the pre-teen on Wendesday. He faces 84 counts of entering an automobile and another five counts of criminal trespass. Multiple businesses along the town’s North Expressway Corridor reported car thefts in recent weeks.
Officials said there will likely be more charges added against the youth. Footage from security cameras helped identify the preteen suspect.
The youth is unidentified because of his age, and the case begs the question of where were the adults in his life?
A recent report from WSB-TV showed that police and prosecutors are increasingly frustrated with the Georgia’s criminal justice system as it relates to juveniles. Police officers said that young offenders through the age of 16 know that they will be treated lightly.
Georgia boy, 12, faces more than 80 charges in string of
alleged car thefts.
A 12-year-old Georgia boy is charged with breaking into dozens of cars, of which he isn't even old enough to drive.The Griffin Police Department said the unidentified b https://t.co/xMSqY53HKd
— CBD CURE DISEASE (@CBDCUREDISEASE) July 27, 2023
Therefore, they are used by gangs and other enterprises to commit crimes that older criminals would be put away for. Often the teenagers and even younger serve no more than 30 days in a youth facility.
One officer recorded a teenager on his body camera boasting that “I’m going to keep doing what I do until I turn 17.” The State Patrol trooper told him to not “be surprised if you’re like the rest of the cats out here at 21 you’re a convicted felon.”
The outlet reported the case of Kelly Galloway, who survived a terrifying attack in Northwest Atlanta in 2019. When she called the police, she told them that she thought she was being confronted by a “child.”
Police captured 17-year-old D’Shawn Garrison, who is now serving a life sentence. He had just been freed from jail on an armed carjacking charge while equipped with an ankle monitor.
How much hope does Griffin have that the youthful suspect won’t be back on the streets doing the exact same crimes by the end of the summer?
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum admitted that his investigators and officers “daily are impacted by the challenges within the juvenile justice system.”
The unidentified 12-year-old undoubtedly lacks strong role models in his life, and the shocking case is not likely to change that situation for him. Instead, he will almost certainly be housed for a short period and then released back into the community.
