Clearwater Defense Lawyer : Juvenile Crime

By Nicholas Dorsten, Esq.

An article in the St. Pete Times dealing with Pinellas juvenile crime.....

DUNEDIN —Two teens have been arrested in connection with the beating of a Dunedin High student on Thursday afternoon.

The 15-year-old girl was attacked by two other teenage girls at a bus stop across the street from the school at 1650 Pinehurst Road, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

The teenagers drove up in a car, got out and beat the student, knocking her to the ground and kicking her in the face, then driving off, deputies said. The attack was apparently over a boy, said a Sheriff's spokeswoman.

The girl was transported to a local hospital for treatment of serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

Initially, authorities were looking for three girls, but one of the other girls at the scene did not participate, the spokewoman said said. The teens were arrested around 11 a.m. Friday. Both were 15. One attended the same school. The other attended Countryside High, she said.

The teenagers were arrested on misdemeanor battery charges and transported to Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center. Their names are not being released because they are minors.

I often get asked, as a Clearwater criminal defense lawyer, about juvenile criminal lawyer techniques and the difference between juvenile and adult charges.

The differences can be massive! As I often tell the parents of my juvenile criminal defense clients, you don't want one mistake to haunt you for the rest of your life! Luckily, for the most part, Pinellas County has a good juvenile court system set up and the judges there know that teenagers/juveniles often don't have control of their emotions yet.

A juvenile charged with a crime, unless it is serious, usually is still charged as someone who is under 18 and the punishments are considerably lighter. In the case mentioned above, a battery charge, when the defendants are charged as juveniles, they will probably have to undergo counseling and court supervision.

As I have mentioned in previous posts about violent crimes, such as battery, if the young offender can stay in juvenile court, he or she has a much better chance of her charges not ruining their lives....

Have you or a loved one been arrested for a violent crime or a juvenile offense? Then contact the Clearwater criminal defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. at (727)286-6141 or visit our website at www.BlakeDorstenLaw.com for a free consultation!