Ten-Year-Old Accused of Robbery Remains In Jail
In a rare move, a judge at juvie decided to keep a kid in lock up.
Wide-eyed, chubby-faced and standing just 4 feet 1, the 10-year-old boy walked into a crowded juvenile courtroom Thursday nursing a bullet wound and facing criminal charges that seemed to belie his young age.
But King County Deputy Prosecutor Julie Kline described the boy as a "danger to the community and a danger to himself," someone who is no stranger to Seattle police. Since July 2008, when he was 8, the boy has been investigated 13 times for crimes that include theft, robbery with assault and robberies with a weapon, Detective Benjamin Hughey told Superior Court Commissioner Julia Garratt. He has never been charged, according to court records.
Now the boy and his two half- brothers — ages 12 and 14 — were in juvenile court, accused of participating in a botched armed robbery Tuesday night aboard a Metro Transit bus that ended with the 10-year-old accidentally shooting himself in his right arm.
According to Seattle police, the three confronted a 17-year-old boy on Metro's Route 7 bus shortly before 8 p.m. The 10-year-old ordered the older boy to empty his pockets while his half-brothers surrounded the victim, police said.
The 17-year-old told police that the 10-year-old unzipped the older boy's backpack and reached inside. The 17-year-old had a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun in the backpack and he was afraid the younger boy was reaching for the gun.
In other news, who the fuck is watching this kid?
