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-- Boy, 7, charged in attempted robbery


Posted by Herbert_West on Apr-23-2003 23:13:

Boy, 7, charged in attempted robbery

Boy, 7, charged in attempted robbery
He brandished fake gun in video store, police say
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ryan Davis and Laura Loh
Sun Staff
Originally published April 23, 2003

Annapolis Hollywood Video store manager Vicky McLaughlin wasn't sure what to make of the bandit pointing a silver handgun at her and declaring, "I'm going to stand this place up." His gun looked real and he was dressed in all black, with a sweat shirt hood pulled tightly around his head.

But this robber was 4 feet tall and weighed 70 pounds. He was 7 years old. And the weapon turned out to be a fake.

"We're still in disbelief that somebody attempted to rob us - and it was a [7-year-old]," McLaughlin said of the Monday afternoon incident.

In the eyes of the law, however, that's just old enough to be taken seriously. The boy, whom police did not identify, was charged with attempted armed robbery and released to his mother.

Police said the incident easily could have taken a tragic turn.

"It's definitely not taken as a joke when someone points a gun and announces a robbery," said Officer Hal Dalton, a police spokesman. "It could have gotten him killed."

Fortunately, the store's employees and the police officers who were called to the scene remained calm, Dalton said. An officer eventually wrested the weapon from the boy's hands.

The child could face a range of penalties, depending on whether he has a criminal record, police said.

The incident happened about 1 p.m., when the boy walked past the Hollywood Video store at 1781 Forest Drive and tapped what appeared to be a gun on the glass storefront, according to police.

Employees said he walked away toward a nearby supermarket, but soon returned and repeated the threatening gesture. "I was like, 'Look at this. You've got to be kidding me,'" said McLaughlin, adding that she was nervous but maintained her composure.

McLaughlin, who was behind the counter loading returned videos into cases, said that even though the gun looked like a real .32-caliber handgun, she turned her back on the boy. That's when he and two young companions entered the store, she said.

Authorities could not confirm that the child had companions. He apparently was alone when police officers arrived, minutes after employees called 911.

Although McLaughlin said he was tempted to laugh about the incident, she also was disturbed. She said the boy berated the officers. "We couldn't believe the language he was using," she said.

Dalton said a police officer told the boy to hand over the gun, but he refused and tucked it under his armpit. The officer then grabbed the toy gun from the boy, who struggled to hold on to it.

Police said the orange tip on the weapon that would have denoted it as a fake had been removed.

When questioned by an officer after the incident, the boy continued to maintain that he had intended to rob the store. "He had every opportunity to tell the officer, 'I was kidding,'" Dalton said.

Yesterday, the boy's mother came by the video store twice to threaten employees, according to police and store employees. "She's going to be advised not to return to the premises or she could be charged," Dalton said.

McLaughlin said there was something the boy forgot: asking for money. "He didn't quite have it down pat," she said.



Notice the second to last paragraph. Sounds like the mom is blaming the video store for the trouble. It was HER fault for not watching the kid. Besides, who in their right mind would let a 7 year old just go roaming around. Seems to me she needs some parenting lessons. And where did a 7 year old learn to hold up a store?!


Posted by Greedy on Apr-23-2003 23:26:

the fact that cops had to wrestle the gun out of the kids hands is pretty sad. This kid was serious!


Posted by Z1D on Apr-24-2003 00:09:

could face a range of penalties depending on whether he has a criminal record?????????????
you can have a criminal record at 7?????????


Posted by Sugarbean on Apr-24-2003 03:22:

bah...
there was a case here in milwaukee where a group of kids...something like 8-18 year olds beat a man to death...and they all thought it was funny....partook as this man was beat with sticks even a baby stroller was thrown at him. whats worse is he got up to someones porch and asked to be let in and the people in the house refused. he died on that porch...


http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/oct02/84237.asp
http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/nov02/92537.asp


Posted by kate on Apr-24-2003 03:30:

quote:
Police said the orange tip on the weapon that would have denoted it as a fake had been removed.

Obviously the kid knew what he was doing, and prepared pretty well.. Sickening if you ask me.


Posted by Sugarbean on Apr-24-2003 03:32:

quote:
Originally posted by Z1D
could face a range of penalties depending on whether he has a criminal record?????????????
you can have a criminal record at 7?????????


you can have a criminal record at 7...its considered your juvenil..i cant spell..record..
and that goes away once u turn 18.
some kids tho are charged as adults if there older i believe then 12, and if their crime...like the one i mentioned, is bad enough.


Posted by mr. poopyhead on Apr-24-2003 07:10:

there's a kid who could use a beating from his parents... what a disrespectful little prick... of course, the mother seems like an irresponsible parent, seeing as she's blaming the incident on store employees... doesn't look like she can be counted on to discipline her kid... what a fucked up world...


Posted by DJ Mikey Mike on Apr-24-2003 08:06:

That kid needs a good whack with the back of ones hand. that little fuck. great future he's got ahead of him


Posted by DJ Mikey Mike on Apr-24-2003 08:07:

quote:
Originally posted by Sugarbean
whats worse is he got up to someones porch and asked to be let in and the people in the house refused. he died on that porch...


thats just plain wrong. i hope those people all suffer very painful and prolonged agonising deaths. cocks. they're disgraces to humanity.


Posted by Magimaster on Apr-24-2003 08:30:

Herbert West

Why don't you put up a link to the article in question instead of copy/pasting it?


Posted by bassaholix on Apr-24-2003 11:53:

quote:
Originally posted by Magimaster
Herbert West

Why don't you put up a link to the article in question instead of copy/pasting it?


Nothing wrong wiff that dood...


Posted by Sugarbean on Apr-24-2003 18:36:

quote:
Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike
thats just plain wrong. i hope those people all suffer very painful and prolonged agonising deaths. cocks. they're disgraces to humanity.


a week later some people went and started their house on fire....burnt it to the ground. so i guess thats justice in a sorta way


Posted by DJ Mikey Mike on Apr-24-2003 18:51:

quote:
Originally posted by Sugarbean
a week later some people went and started their house on fire....burnt it to the ground. so i guess thats justice in a sorta way


thats a start. as far as i can see, those people played just as much apart in that mans death as the killers did themselves. uncalled for


Posted by KilldaDJ on Apr-24-2003 21:44:

Talking

if i was the pigs, i would of beat the kid up and nick his toy gun

sad as that may seem, it would be mildly amusing


Posted by drizzt81 on Apr-24-2003 21:50:

quote:
Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike
That kid needs a good whack with the back of ones hand. that little fuck.


yup.. that should fix him..

no seriously, i think this is an example, where the parents failed..


Posted by Sugarbean on Apr-24-2003 22:26:

quote:
Originally posted by DJ Mikey Mike
thats a start. as far as i can see, those people played just as much apart in that mans death as the killers did themselves. uncalled for


for some reason i think that those people did a worse thing by not letting him in than the children who took part in what happened. even still it is a tradegy...what pisses me off the most is the kids that were charged as juveniles got like four or five years in detention...up intil they turn 18. some though got charged as adults but still didnt get what i think would be a valid punishment.


Posted by Photo_bot_2k1 on Apr-24-2003 22:34:

quote:
Originally posted by drizzt81
yup.. that should fix him..

no seriously, i think this is an example, where the parents failed..


seriously
you know youve failed as parents when ur kid is 7 years old and robbing people

this kid sounds like an asshole too
it might be combo of asshole kid and retarded parents


Posted by mr. poopyhead on Apr-25-2003 07:01:

does anyone see a link between how stupid kids these days are and the decline in parental discipline? (more specifically, a good beating every so often...)

my parents se me straight with a few good whacks every time i did something stupid...



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