|
|
| Harsh outcomes for Duval County juveniles |
| By firstcoastnews.com |
| Published: 02/05/2014 |
|
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Monica Jones wasn't a girl to get in trouble. Triple athletic threat -- cheerleading, soccer, track -- she was also an aspiring vocalist, a faithful churchgoer, an honor student with a full ride to Johnson and Wales University. Her juvenile record? Spotless. "She was always a good girl," her mother, Belinda Jones says. "I never had to worry about her." But that changed on Dec. 15, 2012, when Belinda Jones got a call she never expected. Her 17-year-old daughter had been arrested in an armed robbery. Monica was in the car that night when two others – a close friend and a boy she didn't know -- held up a Westside convenience store, then led police on a high-speed chase. Monica insisted she knew nothing of the plan. Her behavior – including the fact that, after buying chips and soda she stopped to give a homeless man her change – tend to back up her story. But her codefendants, both over 18 and facing significant prison time, eventually changed their story and implicated her. "I had saved up over $6,000 to buy her a car for graduation," says her mother. "And I had to use that money to pay for an attorney." Monica admits she had no idea what kind of trouble she was in. "I was surprised. ... The more I sat in detention center, I said – I'm really in here! I really going to jail! This is my 12th grade year. I'm supposed to be going to college, I'm not going. I don't know when I'm going to get out." More shocking than the arrest, though, was the choice that Monica faced. Prosecutors told her that she'd either have to plead to one of the highest level of juvenile offense, or they'd send her case to adult court, known as a Direct File. Read More. |
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think