Ohio Prosecutor charges a 13 Y.O, teen with 128 felonies

[Union Label]

I cant believe that a child this young could do anything near this. Does this like a prosecutor on a rampage?

The multitude of charges filed recently against a Nelsonville teen has astonished prosecutors, some of whom have practiced law since before he was born.

Andrew Riley, 13, is charged with 128 felonies, in Athens County Juvenile Court. They include burglary, theft, vandalism and witness intimidation. The delinquency charges stem from a crime spree that has lasted more than a year, authorities said.

"In my 30 years of doing this, I’ve never had a juvenile that young with so many charges," Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren said last night.
http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/03/14/20070314-B4-02.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

1. Oh, I believe he's capable.

But yeah, the prosecutor seems going overboard.

[Warpy]

2. Yeah, it's not only possible, it's probable

if the kid is a true psychopath. This kid needs to be off the street for as long as possible with a lot of psychotherapy, one dares hope but not expect.

I think that's why the DA is hitting him with everything possible. S/he realizes that this "first time offender, needs court supervision, blah blah blah" stuff won't work for the kid or for his potential victims.

[Divernan]

3. This little angel had a gang; stole checks from sr. citizens; severely beat a witness.

AND he'll be out on the streets again at age 21, no matter how many counts he's convicted on.
Only then he'll be bigger, meaner & have all his former juvie buddies to form a new gang. I worry about the mildly delinquent kids who will be his victims in juvenile detention.

"Nelsonville police, who continue to investigate the crime spree, have accused Riley of breaking into several homes and businesses, even stealing checks from elderly citizens, Warren said. At least three other youths, one of them 10 years old, have been charged in the investigation, he said.

"It’s a multitude. This isn’t kid stuff. … He gave a severe beating to one of the witnesses who turned him in," Warren said. "You’re getting into his violent nature. We either get him rehabilitated now in the juvenile system or we will be dealing with him for the rest of his life."

Riley is in a juvenile detention center; a pretrial hearing is scheduled for later this month.
Barely a teen, Riley is too young to be tried in an adult court. Even if convicted on all counts, he still likely would be freed from juvenile prison no later than when he turns 21, prosecutors said.

Despite the paperwork involved, Warren said he is proceeding with all of the cases, hoping to get some restitution for the victims. "It is very difficult to explain to a victim whose business has been broken into to say we are going to charge on this but not on yours."

The FullBrooks Cafe, a popular Nelsonville coffee shop, was struck twice, WBNS-TV (Channel 10) reported. "It sort of like took all the air out of me the first time, and the second time I couldn’t believe it," FullBrooks owner Miki Brooks told WBNS."

[theHandpuppet]

24. They didn't deserve this.

The FullBrooks Cafe, a popular Nelsonville coffee shop, was struck twice, WBNS-TV (Channel 10) reported. "It sort of like took all the air out of me the first time, and the second time I couldn’t believe it," FullBrooks owner Miki Brooks told WBNS."

Been there... very, very nice, cool folks just trying to make a living in a very depressed area. They didn't deserve to be the target of this psycho teen. Where were this kid's parents?

[Blue Diadem]

4. I believe the kid could do that..

doesn't surprise me at all. Without seeing everything he's been charged with though, I'd have no idea whether it's excessive.

[Xithras]

5. Kid deserves the charges.

As the article points out, he's simply being charged with everything he did. This 13 year old boy is an armed robber who violently attacked and beat another child who reported him for another assault.

He'll spend no more than eight years in juvenile hall for what he did, which is a slap on the wrist compared to what an adult would be facing for the same crime. I wouldn't agree with charging him as an adult, but a severe punishment is completely warranted within the juvenile system.

[MLFerrell]

6. This kid needs psychiatric help, not incarceration.

Locking him up is only going to mean that eight years from now, a 21 year old young man with a huge grudge is going to be loosed on society. Where are the parents?

[jmowreader]

23. Your last question is the most important one

I agree that the kid needs psychiatric help, and a lot of it...but! We're talking about an gangbanger and armed robber who practices witness intimidation--beating up one of the people who turned him in. Mental hospitals aren't equipped to deal with this guy, and as for outpatient places...I have this vision of this guy committing crimes on his way to his counseling sessions.

This young man belongs in prison, and with over 120 felonies charged against him, that's where he'll go.

[depakid]

7. That's ridiculous

So Warren's going to go to trial(s) and prove up 128 charges. Please.

More bizarre stuff out of Ohio.

[Richard Steele]

10. That's actually fairly routine, pre-trial.

Even a single simple B&E burglary breaks many separate laws.

A standard indictment lists them all- Burglary, criminal trespass,
possession of/receiving stolen property, possession of burglary tools,
CONSPIRACY to commit all of the above, etc, etc...

And defense attorneys then begin trial by asking that all
the smaller charges be dropped, as they fall under the
umbrella of the biggest charge. And this request is almost
always granted as a matter of course.

(Edditted fer spellin.)

[Union Label]

12. I didn't realize that

So say someone were to rob a gas station with a knife. How many charges could they possibly get?

[Richard Steele]

13. I'm not a lawyer, but I can think of a few...

Armed robbery,
aggravated assault,
threat by intimidation,
receiving stolen property,
carrying a concealed weapon,
possession of stolen property,
possession of instruments of a crime;
conspiracy to commit all of the above crimes,
etcetera.

I'm sure the actual technical NAMES of the charges vary from place to place,
as do which charges are affected by little details. But almost
every facet of any crime violates a distinct law of some sort.

The few criminal indictments that I've ever seen personally
looked a lot like that- a regular laundry list, from biggest
to smallest crime.

If you parked illegally during the robbery, the DA's office
would put it in the indictment!

[Union Label]

21. Ok I can see that now

And a parking violation lol the icing on the cake. :rofl:

[depakid]

14. 128 felony counts?

I don't think so. Then again, I haven't spent too much time in Ohio.

What the hell is wrong back there? Can't you all get the job done otherwise?

[Richard Steele]

15. In a year-long crime spree? What's so hard to believe?

That's less than 3 a week; probably many fewer
individual "crimes" than that. Every crime involves
breaking multiple laws & generates multiple counts.

It's a DA's job to be thorough- dot every "i", cross
every "t", and indict for EVERY violation they feel
is supported by evidence.

[depakid]

18. I guess just normality

You realize that people who live in other places often think that what's been going on in Ohio these past years is very strange?

Curious about your take.

[Richard Steele]

19. My "take" is that this is getting attention PRECISELY because it's so unusual

As the prosecutor said:
"In my 30 years of doing this, I’ve never
had a juvenile that young with so many charges,"
Athens County Prosecutor C. David Warren said last night."

This is not "normal" for Ohio. Not lately, not ever.
We're talking about the WORST 13-year-old that a particular
Ohio county has seen in at least 30 years.

[depakid]

20. Yeah well

It might be time to learn about law.

Ohians have been taken advantage of for a long time with shit like this.

People play you all- they use emotion to short circuit how you all would ordinarily think.

This case is a classic example of that.

Bad facts, that's for sure.

Yet think about it? 128 counts? Come on now.

How many times have you been told or shown something that would piss you off?

How many of the communities in Ohio have been devastated, while other things were going on?

Just a thought or two....

[depakid]

26. delete

[Selatius]

8. One thing is for sure, that kid had some fucked up parents.

The state should take him away from his parents and rehabilitate him.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

25. And Your Evidence Of That Is What Now?

[Selatius]

27. The fucked-upness of the kid.

Is it safe to assume that this kid is the product of his household?

[Xenotime]

9. This clearly has gone too far.

NO kid to do all of this. Somebody is setting this kid up.

[damntexdem]

11. Still less than ten a year.

Although it does seem to have picked up a bit since toddlerhood. ;-)

[femmedem]

16. Worst crime: he's really Khalid Sheikh Muhammed .

Also, he's the one that leaked Valerie Plame's identity.

[ComerPerro]

17. I find it very easy to believe a 13 year old would be capable of this

some people forget that in many ways 13 is not as young as you might think.

[Beetwasher]

22. The RNC Is Already Making Him Offers

n/t