Four Virginia teenagers residing at a nonsecure housing facility designed for juvenile status offenders have additional charges to fight after police say they left the home in the middle of the night, stole a pick-up truck and ended up crashing the vehicle through the front of a home in Woodbridge.
Members of the group, which consist of four girls and a boy, were accused of such juvenile crimes as grand larceny, felony eluding, hit-and-run, driving without a license and conspiracy to commit a felony. All of them are being held at a secured juvenile detention center as they await their next court hearings. There is no word on whether or not prosecutors will try any of them as adults.
Administrators at the juvenile facility notified police late one night that the group of individuals left the home. Police determined the group stole a 2000 Chevy Silverado and drove it to Williamston. One of the females with the group reportedly departed from the group.
The next morning, police received phone calls from witnesses in Dumfries that noticed a vehicle driving erratically – even hitting another vehicle before driving away. The description matched the stolen vehicle. Authorities tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver would not pull over.
The vehicle headed down Cardinal Drive and eventually lost control, running off the road and barreling into the front of a home. No one in the home was injured, but the four teens tried to get away. They were apprehended shortly after, along with the female teen that left the group before the crash.
Police believe a 15-year-old boy was behind the wheel with two 14-year-old females and another 15-year-old passenger.
Juvenile court is significantly different than the criminal court adults face. Generally, juvenile courts place an emphasis on rehabilitating young offenders so they can avoid a life of crime. The teens involved may have made an ill-advised decision, but there is still time to put them on the right path to becoming contributing members of society.
Source: InsideNova.com, “Police: Teenagers crash stolen pickup into Woodbridge house,” Feb. 19, 2013
-
Facebook
-
Twitter
-
LinkedIn