Teenage girls who murdered Uber Eats driver during carjacking reportedly getting plea deal
According to reports, the Washington Post, which sat-in on the virtual hearing for the two juveniles on Wednesday, March 31st, said that the prosecutor had told the judge they were expecting to give attorneys plea bargain offers in the coming days.
Many people believe the girls should be charged as adults, but the prosecutor plans to offer the girls a plea bargain instead. D.C. Criminal Defense Attorney Nikki Lotze, with Lotze and Mosley, LLP, explained more about the circumstances around juvenile cases.
In explaining that District laws around juveniles are very different and operate under the presumption that a juvenile can be rehabilitated in ways the adult system may not be set up to support.
She added:
“In all kinds of way in D.C. at least, juveniles are treated differently.”
Reportedly, D.C. law prohibits a 13-year-old from being tried as an adult. At 15-years-0ld, the D.C. Attorney General’s Office could petition for a case to be transferred to the adult court system. Court sources told FOX 5 that that usually happens during the first hearing.
However, the Post reported that there was no indication that the prosecutor was planning to do so following the second hearing. Lotze said:
“How old that juvenile is, whether they’ve been juvenilely adjudicated previously. Whether they’ve, whether there’s a gun used in this case. In this case there’s no firearm, it was a stun gun.”
She added:
“So, there’s lots of determinations. There’s lots of factors to be considered for the Attorney General and then the judge to make the decision that a person is better charged as an adult than a juvenile.”
The teen’s have reportedly pled the juvenile version of “not guilty.” Lotze stated:
“If you were to reach a plea agreement, then the juvenile would admit involvement.”
Lotze added that the agreement could include:
“Potentially being a youth shelter involvement, which is similar to jail, but for juveniles. Or could involve being on home detention or being on probation.”
FOX 5 confirmed through sources that this involved the younger suspect, who may have been involved in more than one previous crime. Both girls’ names have been withheld due to their ages.
https://www.lawenforcementtoday.com/teenage-girls-who-murdered-uber-eats-driver-reportedly-getting-plea-deal/