Defendant in juvenile crime case seeks pretrial intervention

Bullying of students and the subsequent suicides of those bullied have been prevalent in the news over the last few years. When young people bully one another, the decision must be made whether to try them as adults or to try them for a juvenile crime. These decisions and any sentencing resulting from convictions are often decided based upon the extent of participation in the crime by each individual charged with the crime.

In a recent case that made headlines, a 15-year-old boy was robbed of no more than $400 on a parking deck in Morris County on March 9, 2012. Two weeks later, he committed suicide. Two juveniles, both 17 years old, have already been charged with robbery and conspiracy.

A third person who is alleged to have observed the incident has also been charged with lying to police about his knowledge of the crime. The 19-year-old has applied for acceptance into Morris County’s pretrial intervention program. This would allow him to avoid a lengthy court process and possibly to avoid jail time.

PTI is only available to nonviolent offenders. Among the advantages is that the applicant doesn’t have to admit to a crime. If accepted, the defendant gets just that one shot at PTI, though. There are no do-overs. The next time around, the case goes to the court.

Instead of jail time, the PTI participant’s penalty is a period of probation and any other conditions the court deems appropriate. If the participant completes all the conditions to the satisfaction of the court, the charges may be dismissed.

Providing false information to police is a fourth-degree crime in New Jersey, carrying a sentence of up to 18 months. State law, however, does not favor jail time for fourth-degree crimes.

The victim was allegedly bullied at Morristown High School where one of the defendants charged with the juvenile crime allegedly kicked him in the groin. The incident in the parking garage occurred only a few days later. The 19-year-old charged in relation to this case may not have been directly involved in committing the crime, but his failure to report details to the police may have serious consequences that could follow him for the rest of his life.

Source: dailyrecord.com, “Man to request pretrial intervention; Program would drop charges related to robbery,” Peggy Wright, July 3, 2012