Officials defend denying custody order for teen arrested in Uptown chaos

CHARLOTTE — The Department of Juvenile Justice is defending its denial of a secure custody order for a 15-year-old accused of participating in the chaos on New Year’s Eve in Uptown Charlotte.

Five people were shot at Romare Bearden Park on Sunday around 11:30 p.m., police said. But in addition to the shooting, police arrested 11 people under the age of 18, including the 15-year-old, and one adult.

>> READ MORE: At least 10 people shot in, around Romare Bearden Park in 2023

As a result, parents of some of the arrested juveniles were cited.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has not identified the adults who are being held accountable, but through public records, Channel 9′s Joe Bruno found citations were issued to six people who are all tied to events in Uptown.

Those six adults weren’t arrested, and instead were given tickets for delinquency of a minor.

The citation for one of the adults, a 39-year-old woman, says she encouraged and aided a 15-year-old and 16-year-old into being in Uptown unsupervised. Police said they stayed past curfew and resisted and assaulted a government official.

It’s unclear if that’s the same 15-year-old CMPD referred to in a news release about New Year’s Eve. In that release, the department claimed the teen recently cut off his Department of Juvenile Justice ankle monitor.

CMPD asked permission to take that teen into custody, but the Department of Juvenile Justice denied the request. When Bruno asked why, a spokesperson for the Department of Juvenile Justice said state law bans them from commenting on specific juveniles, but when making decisions about secure custody, their role is to consider potential risks to public safety, the individualized needs of the juvenile and their risk of re-offending.

The spokesperson also said it is a misconception that just because a juvenile is not immediately brought into secure custody, the youth was not or will not be held accountable.

Bruno sent the full statement to CMPD to see if they had thoughts on agency’s explanation, but they did not respond.

Nineteen-year-old Daevion Crawford has been charged with the shooting.

Read the full statement from the Department of Juvenile Justice below:

“The confidentiality of juvenile matters per North Carolina statute curtails the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the N.C. Department of Public Safety from providing any information about an individual juvenile (see G.S. 7B-3000, 3001, 3100). However, when making decisions related to secure custody, staff with the Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention take very seriously any information addressing whether a juvenile presents a danger to public safety and respond accordingly. DJJDP’s role is to consider potential risks to public safety, the individualized needs of the juvenile and their risk of re-offending when making decisions about how to best address delinquency. Secure custody orders are granted by district court judges. The authority for screening secure custody requests is delegated to the juvenile court counselor’s office by N.C. General Statute § 7B-1902.

“In the juvenile justice system, pretrial secure custody is reserved for juveniles who pose a public safety risk, or to ensure a juvenile who has a history of not showing up for court hearings comes to court. It cannot be used to punish a child before the court has heard the case. The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees pretrial release where a public safety risk does not exist. Since in the juvenile system bonds do not exist, our staff must ensure all due process procedures are considered before a child’s rights and freedom are taken away. Beyond the legal reasons to reserve detention for juveniles who present a danger to public safety, evidence-based research indicates that the use of juvenile detention for pre-trial juveniles increased felony recidivism by 33% and misdemeanor recidivism by 11%. Hence reserving detention for juveniles who are dangerous is being smart on crime and improves outcomes for our youth and communities.

“A common misconception about the juvenile justice system is that just because a juvenile is not immediately brought into secure custody the youth was not/will not be held accountable. This could not be further from the truth. Upon being adjudicated for the offense for which they have been accused, the court has a wide range of options to consider for disposition including detention, crisis and assessment residential services, emergent mental health services, electronic monitoring or a whole host of other services across the state that address delinquent and undisciplined behaviors. Those services include supervision and diversion services with specific criteria that must be met such as school attendance, curfew, letters to victims, and specific community programming to address identified needs.”

(PREVIOUS: Woman recovers after being shot New Year’s Eve in Uptown)

Woman recovers after being shot New Year’s Eve in Uptown

©2024 Cox Media Group