Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
A Jacksonville teen was arrested on charges of making a false bomb threat that forced police and school officials to put his high school on lockdown earlier this month. After the threat was called in, police searched the campus but did not find anything on the property, according to a report on News4Jax. Police said that a teacher told them the student confessed to her, but the student has since denied that’s what he told her, the television station reported. Police say the student has offered different stories, but both involve someone else using his cell phone to make the call, the television station reported. Still, he was arrested more than a week after the threat was called in and charged with making a hoax bomb threat. The charge is a second-degree felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in state prison.
The charge is somewhat complicated by the fact the student is just 15 years old. In Jacksonville Juvenile Crimes Cases such as this when teenagers are arrested on felony charges, prosecutors have the authority to make the decision on whether to charge the child as a juvenile or as an adult. Prosecutors can choose to keep the case in juvenile court, or they can decide the youth should be prosecuted in adult court. In some cases, prosecutors are seen as being tougher on crime by sending juveniles to adult court. However, the juvenile court system is there for a reason – with recognition that youth can make mistakes and be seriously punished, but not have those mistakes affect the entire rest of their life.
When a child or teen pleads guilty to or is convicted of a Jacksonville Juvenile Crime, there are five different incarceration options a judge can issue to the boy or girl. They range from a modified house arrest on up to what amounts to a prison for juveniles. The misconception that if teens are tried in juvenile court they are not punished is simply not true. It’s simply a recognition that it a 15-year-old boy who makes a mistake and calls in a bomb threat to his school probably doesn’t need to be serving time in adult state prison. Our Jacksonville Juvenile Crimes Attorney represents teens and children accused of a variety of different crimes, including felonies like this case. Our Jacksonville Criminal Defense Attorney will examine the facts of the case explain the ramifications so you can make the best decision going forward.
If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Duval County Juvenile Crimes Attorney, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.