Teens Accused Of Playing With Gun At School Remain Locked Up
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HOLLWOOD (CBSMiami) – Two teens who sent their middle school into lockdown when they played with a loaded gun on campus will spend the next three weeks locked up.
A judge told their solemn and tearful parents this bad decision could have killed multiple students.
"I'm asking for mercy to let him come home," said the mother of one of the boys in a court hearing in Broward County Thursday afternoon.
Speaking at times through tears , the parents of the two Apollo Middle school students who were arrested for playing with a loaded gun on campus, urged the Judge to let their boys out of juvenile lockup.
"I know what they did was wrong, I'm just asking for mercy and I want him to come home so I can work with him," said the mother.
The father of the 13-year-old who brought the gun to campus told the judge, "We would like him to come home, be on home detention with a monitor or whatever, whatever the court's discretion is but we don't want to keep him detained because he's never been in trouble, he's never been in trouble."
That father says his son did not get the firearm from under his bed as it states in the police report.
Police say the boys hid the loaded gun under a portable, and even pointed it at two other students with a bullet in the chamber.
"Your Honor the State would vehemently object to anything other than secured detention. The egregiousness of this crime...they put two other youths lives in danger," the prosecutor told the Judge. The Judge went a step further than that.
"Anyone could have found it. It's not just two lives that were in danger in the court's opinion, having a loaded firearm at a middle school is just something that causes so much concern for the public."
She acknowledged the several honor roll certificates and report cards showing at least one of the young men was a good student, but still kept both locked up.
"At this time I don't feel as though I can release him, I'm going to order him to 21 days secured detention, no contact with any of the others involved in the case."
Though the Judge says she felt for the parents, she also worried about the fears of the parents who rushed to Apollo Middle School while it was on lockdown.
"I'm hoping this will give him some perspective."
The teens' next court hearing is set for February 9th.
