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Bill proposed to crack down on juvenile gun crimes
Kylie Jones reports
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - A bill proposed in the Florida legislature aims to crack down on juvenile gun crimes.
House Bill 1181, which was introduced by Rep. Berny Jacques, would raise the penalty for a charge of minor in possession of a firearm from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony.
"It presumes that a youth is a danger to the community if they have committed a firearms offense, so they will be held now in detention until they have that adjudicatory hearing," Jacques said.
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Teen shot after firing gun at Manatee deputies
A teenager was injured in an officer-involved shooting early Friday morning in Bradenton after he was caught checking door handles on vehicles, according to the sheriff's office.
Rep. Jacques says under the bill, if the judge releases the juvenile, they have to put in writing why the juvenile doesn’t pose a danger to the community.
He says the bill would also allow the Department of Juvenile Justice to immediately hold a juvenile accountable when they’re not complying with court-ordered probation.
"We're going to be safer as a result when we address these [types] of offenses," Jacques said. "But secondly, this is going to help these young people because … I saw it as a prosecutor in the adult court system; you had young people who were getting away with the same offenses as juveniles, but when they were in the adult system, it was much less forgiving."
Over the last several months, sheriffs around Tampa Bay have called for tougher penalties on juveniles who commit gun crimes.
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Rise in teen gun crimes
A teen is accused of breaking into a newly constructed home in Manatee County and trying to shoot at a security guard.
In Hillsborough County, multiple juveniles are facing adult-level charges for gun-related crimes over the last several months.
"It's with a heavy heart when we have to charge a juvenile as an adult," 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Suzy Lopez said. "But that is what we have to do to keep our community safe. We can't just have a teenager who kills someone. Get let out of the Department of Juvenile Justice after 21 days. A diversion program is not appropriate."
However, Lopez says another gaping problem when it comes to preventing teen gun violence is centered around where they’re getting the guns.
"It's frustrating," Lopez said. "It's also become very predictable. We often know that when there is a crime that is committed by a teenager with a gun, we can almost make a generalization that that gun has been stolen or that that gun has been used in a prior crime. That that gun was not legally purchased."
Lopez says the vast majority of stolen guns are from unlocked cars. Law enforcement agencies have echoed this, begging gun owners to take their guns out of their cars and lock them up.
READ: 'It's got to stop': Bay Area law enforcement beats drum on gun thefts from unlocked cars
"It's really frustrating, because there's something that every person who has a gun, every gun owner can do, and that's lock your car doors," Lopez said.
Lopez says law enforcement agencies in Hillsborough County have free gun locks for anyone who needs one.
The House bill is currently in the state legislature.