Calif. Girl, 11, to Be Tried for Felony(threw 2 pound rock in water fight)

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5186979,00.html

Calif. Girl, 11, to Be Tried for Felony

Associated Press Writer

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Advocates for an 11-year-old girl who was arrested on a deadly weapon charge for throwing a 2-pound rock during a water balloon fight say the charge in no way fits the crime.

But Fresno's mayor and police chief say Maribel Cuevas's case was handled appropriately, and that assault with a deadly weapon is the proper charge for an act that might have had fatal consequences.

The case was to go to trial Wednesday in the Juvenile Delinquency Division of Fresno Superior Court. In an unusual move for a case involving a minor, the trial will be open to the public.

Maribel was arrested in April for throwing the rock at a neighborhood boy who had pelted her with a water balloon. The rock gashed the boy's forehead, and the girl spent five days in Fresno's juvenile hall and a month under house arrest after police said she resisted arrest and scratched an officer's arm.

<</SNIP>>

[Ian David]

1. You can hardly expect an 11 year old to NOT resist arrest

They're kids.

They're scared.

They're pretty much hard-wired to resist arrest.

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. While I agree this girl shouldn't have thrown a rock

at this kid, I can sure think of better ways to handle this. Anger management counseling comes to mind.

At least it is being tried in juvenile court. That's something.

[MadHound]

3. Glad I'm not a kid in these times,

Otherwise I might be in jail right now. I beaned my older sister in the head with a rock when I was four, she had to have stiches. The only authority I had to answer to was my mom, and that was a hell of a lot scarier than the police at the time.

This is absolutely ridiculous. First off, anything from a rock to a pencil can be considered a deadly weapon if you split hairs enough. Secondly, I hate to say it, but kids are going to be kids and they're going to do this kind of shit. It should be taken care of by the parents and counselors, not the cops.

[mike_c]

6. I suspect the parents of the boy hit by the rock...

...initiated the case. The Guardian article doesn't make that clear, but I'll bet it's true. Once involved, the police are in a bit of a sticky situation. Don't get me wrong-- I agree with you 100 percent-- but I think it should be noted that parents and couselors have a responsibility to deal with the matter THEMSELVES, and to involve the police only when it's really justified. Simply calling the police because you're pissed that Mary threw a rock at Johnny, and caused inconvenience and expense, is a bit over the top. I suspect that the parents showed pretty poor judgement in this instance.

[wakeme2008]

4. pics

The Girl



The Boy

[zbdent]

5. She better hope she doesn't get John "french-fry" Roberts

(Oh, I get why he ruled against the 12-year-old kid for eating a french fry - she wasn't eating a "freedom fry"!)

[FormerOstrich]

7. I read about this shortly after it happened...

This girl was defending herself.

I remember this because it made me so angry. This girl was outside her home with some younger kids playing. A group of boys rode up on bicycles and started taunting her and pelting her with the waterballons. She knew at least one of the boys and they had hassled her before. When she could not get them to leave she threw the rock.

After the rock hit the boy, she felt bad and ran to the boys house to apologize to the boy's parents.

The police apparently came storming on to the scene and grabbed her from behind and pinned her down. She was detained for a ridiculous time.

I don't even think the police should have been called. The Aunt of one of the younger children called 911.

What has happened to this girl is horrible. I don't know how many boys their were but it was at least three of them. They rode their bicycles to her home and attacked her. Those boys were nothing but thugs.

I hope somehow someone can help this girl out. I can tell you, as a female and having been attacked by three boys when I was about her age, it is extremely frightening.

[Xithras]

8. Bull, charging her was the proper thing to do.

A nine year old boy pelted her with WATER BALLOONS. He was being a typical KID, playing with ANOTHER KID, when that kid picked up a two pound (more than lethal) rock and smashed him in the head with it, splitting his head open to the skull.

She should be charged like any other kid who committs a violent crime, or at the very least be committed for therapy...if the girl reacts that violently to water balloons and a few taunts she obviously has serious mental issues.

A typical kid reaction to someone pelting you with water balloons would be to get your own and pelt them back or, failing that, to locate the nearest available hose. If the kid wasn't typical, for whatever reason, she should have gone in to tell her parents or told the parents of the boy in order to curb his behavior. Smacking him in the skull with a deadly weapon shouldn't have even crossed her mind.

[FormerOstrich]

10. No....

He was a typical BULLY, along with some fellow BULLIES, sought this girl out and terrorized her.

I bet you are male.

[Toots]

12. It sounds like a clear case of self protection and sexual harrassment

I think her family should sue the police for false imprisonment and harrassment or isn't a child allowed to protect themself? How did she know there was not acid in those baloons instead of water?

[FormerOstrich]

9. I googled and found this report....

I hadn't seen this account...apparently they went into CYA mode after AP printed the story. This is just great....but the rock was jagged...as if that makes any difference. I guess girls are suppoed to defend themselves with small smooth rocks.


..snip

"This incident has been distorted and misrepresented," Mayor Alan Autry said in a statement.

..snip

Police said an Associated Press story last week should have mentioned that the rock was "jagged-edged" and weighed two pounds, and that that the gash to the boy's head was "deep." Police also said the girl physically resisted while being handcuffed and put in a patrol car, scratching an officer's arm. The scratches were documented in two police photos.

"It is unfortunate that The Associated Press released one-sided information containing numerous inaccuracies," Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

....snip

The case began in April as children's play between Maribel and Elijah Vang, who lived around the block from the Cuevas family. Maribel was in the fourth grade at the time, and Elijah was in third grade at the same elementary school.

Maribel said she was playing on the sidewalk with her 6-year-old brother when Elijah rode by on his bike with a half-dozen neighborhood boys, who splattered them with water balloons. Police said Tuesday that there is no indication that any other boys were involved, but the police report also notes that no other boys were around to be interviewed when officers arrived.

Maribel threw a rock that hit Elijah on the head, opening a gash. While she ran to find Elijah's parents, a neighbor called 911. Police responded, arresting the girl. She was held in juvenile hall for five days, then released under house arrest for nearly a month. She's scheduled to appear on a charge of felony assault with a deadly weapon on Aug. 3.

Police said Tuesday that the AP story minimized the severity of the assault by failing to mention the size of the rock (5.5 inches by 3.75 inches) or the gash (the police report said it was four inches long; it turned out to be 1.2 inches long, according to hospital records cited by Beshwate) or the fact that Maribel scratched the officer's arm.

Several other key facts remain in dispute. For example, police say Maribel weighs 130 pounds. Her family says she's 90 pounds. Police say they believe Elijah is 6 years old; hospital records show he's 8 and a half, Beshwate said.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20050719-1542-ca-girlcharged.html

[Sgent]

11. Can an 11 yo girl

throw a rock hard enough to make it a "deadly weapon"?

This story is so wrong, I'm sorry, but this is typical child behavior -- at least it was in my neighborhood. I'm glad no one was seriously hurt, but stitches weren't an unusual result.

[ProfessorGAC]

13. Especially A 2# Rock

I'm with you on this. Even if she weighed 130# (not the 90# in the second version), that's not a lot of size for an undeveloped musculature to throw 2# with speed.

And the "jagged" thing is stupid. Anyone really think she selected the "perfect jagged" weapon to throw? I don't.

I think the police overreacted in this case.
The Professor