What wrong with these asshole judges?

[url]http://www.sptimes.com/2002/08/28/Citrus/Mother_in_shock_over_.shtml[/url]

Mother in shock over teen's sentence
Authorities had recommended lighter sentences for the teenager, but a judge says 10 years.
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INVERNESS -- Earlier this year, 16-year-old Adam Bollenback swiped a six-pack of beer from a refrigerator in a woman's garage and got caught by Citrus County sheriff's deputies.

The situation went from bad to worse when Bollenback slithered out of a patrol car while the deputy wasn't watching, leaving behind only his shoes.

He was caught and accused of burglary, petty theft and escape. Prosecutors charged him in the adult system, a move that was within their discretion.

After Bollenback was tried and convicted of the crimes, the state Department of Corrections recommended the boy, now 17, wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet for two years. The Department of Juvenile Justice thought a stay in a high-level youth facility would be more appropriate.

On Tuesday, Circuit Judge Ric A. Howard discarded those suggestions and sentenced Bollenback to a 10-year prison term.

"You're well on your way to a lifetime of prison and I don't want to see that happen," Howard said before handing down the punishment. "This sentence is going to break your spirit right now."

Bollenback's mother, Cheryl, was stunned by the judge's decision.

"What? What did he say?" she asked, glancing around the courtroom in confusion. "Ten years? Is that right?"

Bollenback's lawyer, Jim Cummins, immediately asked the judge for permission to keep the youth at the Citrus County jail for 10 days so he could file motions protesting the sentence. Howard denied the request.

Then Cummins asked that his client, still technically a juvenile, be segregated from the adult inmate population. The motion also was rejected.

"He's an adult and he's going to be treated as an adult," Howard said.

Bollenback smiled and flashed a peace symbol at his mother as he was led out of the courtroom in shackles.

"Adam, I love you," Cheryl Bollenback called out. "Don't worry about a thing."

Adam Bollenback has a history of trouble with the law. Assistant State Attorney David Porter said the teen had been convicted of battery on a detention facility staff member, aggravated assault and battery on school staff.

But Cheryl Bollenback told the judge before sentencing the convictions sounded worse than they actually were. She said the detention facility employee was dismissed after the fight with her son because he had a history of being physically violent.

The aggravated assault charge came after her son threw a stick in her direction during a quarrel. Cheryl Bollenback said she never expected her son to be charged with a crime.

"I thought I could call for help to calm him down," she said.

Her son received the school-related charge when a staff member tried to break up a fight between him and another student. "It's not like he punched a school employee," she said.

Cheryl Bollenback also told the judge her son was taking several medications to help him with mental problems, including bipolar disorder. She said most of his offenses have happened when he refused to take his medicine.

But Porter said the explanations illustrated an inability to accept blame.

"It's always somebody else's fault other than their own," he said.

Porter also noted Adam Bollenback had a history of substance abuse, including alcohol, codeine and marijuana.

Cummins said he plans to file a flurry of motions to keep his client out of prison. But that task may become significantly more difficult in the next day: Once Adam Bollenback is put into adult prison, he is no longer eligible for a juvenile sentence, Cummins said.

Although Bollenback was tried as an adult, he was sentenced during juvenile court. Cummins said he believes the judge was trying to make an example of his client.

"There's no place for that when you're sentencing an individual," he said. "Especially in the sentencing of a juvenile."

Amazing. Murderers go free and little punks go to jail for ten years for swiping a six-pack.

Pathetic, actually...

What is that saying.......... Cant do the time, dont do the crime!

We need more hard nosed judges like this!

Good job judge.

Boo freaking hoo. I have no sympathy for this kid, maybe he should have thought of the consequences before A) stealing and B) escaping from the police. The second act is the dumb one, really.

It's real simple to stop this kid from breaking any more laws.

Lock him up.

Throw away the key.

Sounds to me as if this judge is on the side of law abiding citizens and not the criminals. Maybe we should send him a case of scotch.

He did not go to jail for “swiping a six-pack”…

1. Breaking and entering someone’s home.
2. Theft.
3. Escape while under arrest.
4. And a long history of violent assaults and other problems.

Sounds like he got what he deserved. If he behaves he will probably be out in 18 months. I have no sympathy for anyone who violates someone else’s home.

The little cretin is Pathetic.

Personnaly I think the mother should do half the time.

Sgtar15

Does the punishment fit the crime?
Hell no!
It should,yes?

The punishment does not fit the [b]one[/b] crime, it fits the [b]lifetime[/b] of crime[b]s[/b] and is just.

You guys are unfucking believable.
Why don't you just take the little bastard out and shoot him (sarcasm intended)

He got off easy....

In some Free States, he could have been shot while breaking and entering, think about it...

10 years does seem a little harsh. However, if this punk is not "taught a lesson" his crimes will escalate into violence, resulting in a death!  

You guys want to throw away a 16 year old kid and sentence him to a life of rape in an adult prison and come out 100 times worse then is is right now for petty bullshit offences,remember he was 16 when he pulled this, if this sentence stands it is a crime in of it self.
Some of you holier than thou members that just posted better remember that we still have kids and it could have been one of ours,and you also better remember back when you were young and foolish.
I'll bet that at least one or two of you got away with a whole lot more.
self righteous SOB's

Interesting.  I'm guessing that the mother listened to the kid's teachers and had him on Ritalin by the age of 6 or 7.

And flame away if you want, but it sounds suspiciously like this kid NEVER had a strong male role model in his life.  And his mother seems to be a whimpering idiot who never taught her son that actions have consequences (and probably never learned that lesson herself, for that matter).  Far easier to put little Johnny on state-approved dope than to put in the effort to actually be a parent.  [rolleyes]

And while I agree that he should be penalized for his actions, I don't think that 10 years in the pen for what he did is reasonable.  I hope they have a surplus of space in that prison; I'd hate to think that a REAL slimebag got released early to provide space for this kid.

Relax. The kid will probably get a lighter sentence on appeal. If he gets a shorter sentence, hopefully he'll feel like he dodged a major bullet, reflect on his criminal behavior and decide to do something with his life. If he doesn't get the shorter sentence, he'll serve a couple of years and get time off for good behavior. During that time he'll realize he's not such a tough guy and either changes for the better or he becomes a punk that winds up dying on the street in a pool of his own blood.

It was only a sixpack, but it could easily have been a gun he found in the garage. Breaking and Entering for theft is a violation of the unwritten code of civic decency no matter who or what is involved.

I agree with the judges sentence totally, I just think it's a terrible pity that we cannot sentence jrzy to be his prison guard for about a month so he can be the next person to get assaulted by the little Bastage.

jrzy,

Things are not the same as when many of us were kids. Life is not the same, kids are much more likely to kill, or injure somone over a piece of clothing, or a pair of shoes. Heck, they even kill each other for wearing the wrong color ball cap.

I seriously doubt this was the first time that this kid was before a judge. I pity the kid, and hope he gets help, but he knew what he did was wrong, and that is the bottom line. It is a shame that his father is no where to be found, and that his mother is obviously clueless. Society did not let him down, his folks did.

Yes I could have been there, but I knew that doing things like that was wrong, so I didn't. My father was no where around, and my mother didn't care. But the bottom line is, I knew it was wrong, I didn't need to see the inside of the system to know better.

dave

Not my House, He'd be in realy bad shape if I was home. if I were not home, he would have his hand full w/ my Akita....I may actaully treat him better them my Akita would.

This sentence was not harsh enough. He committed a couple of serious felonies, and is a violent little predator as well..

He probably would have gotten 20 for the Burglary and 5 for the Escape where I live (eligible for release in about 12 years).

I agree with jrzy.  If the kid was ever going to straighten out it's going to be before he's 25.  If he's surrounded by ass raping criminals for any amount of time, he's not going to come out any better.  Might as well give him a death sentence now, because with this punishment he'll earn it later.

His response when the judge sentenced him tells me he's not taking this seriously. I don't know if the sentence was right, but if you let that kid off you're going to have more problems down the road.

Damn the little bugger, fry his ass in the electric chair. [rolleyes]

ALL muslims living in America who refuse to convert to Christianity should receive the same sentence.

What's going to happen when he comes out at 26, a real tough guy, with contacts, a proper criminal education but no real education, and motivation?  Do you think he'll straighten up an fly right after he gets rejected for the umpteenth time for a minimum wage job.  

Gimmie a break, this kid needs to spend every ounce of his free time (read: not working or not in school), washing police cars over, and over, and over, and over...  If he fails to straighen up after this period of supervision, things must be escalated at that time!

He may be on the road to being a career criminal, but he's not there yet.  Sending him to the pen is certaintly the expressway to that desination...

The police should also be embarassed for allowing him to give them the slip.

This "boy" has a history of violent behavior and hopefully will spend the full 10 years behind bars.  But, he'll probably be up for parole in 2 or 3 years so he can go steal something else.

Wow!! I can't believe we have tree hugging liberals in here. Way to to go Judge. I wish we had him here in my County.

Jrzy, maybe you would think differently if it was a family member the was burglarized.

I think he should stay there all ten years, getting ass raped every damn day he is there. We as a society need to quit feeling sorry for these little fuckups. Want to feel sorry for somebody? Feel sorry for the third graders he was picking on every day at the bus stop. He was no doubt a bully and now he is gonna get his ass kicked all over the place. I think it is pretty just. Lock him up and throw away the key!

What the hell are you talking about?  Trying to be sarcastic?  It was pretty lame.

Care to elaborate on your incessant rambling?

I like this place so I won't say what I wanted to,but let me say this,the next time you call me a liberal i will probably be banned for the response you will get.

You must be fun at parties!

Sounds like you are envious of the feudal Japanese justice system.  Death is the solution for all crimes!

that poor boy.....

[sarcasm]they shouldve just given him some weekend work detail cleaning freeways, a rx for ritalin and some counseling[/sarcasm]

I must say it always makes me laugh when people say" well so and so person goes into the jails and comes out a more refined crimal with contacts and will most likely commit more crimes".

Know there is some truth to this statement to some degree, but It really all boils down to each individuals personal choices while they are in prison!

A person can choose to learn criminal behavior in prison and develop contacts, or they can choose to stay away from such crowds and try to use the time in prison to become a better person.

I say this because I have a friend that was hooked on meth. He was a serious drug dealer until he used more of his own product then he sold. Well he eventually lost everything, his job,his wife,his kids,his house, everything, and he ended up liveing on the streets for a year. During that year he stole to live and feed his habit. Well one day he got busted and ended up in jail for 2 years. He said to me that he had to make some real hard choices while locked up, he said that he chose to use the time to get off meth and he eventually became a christian in jail and began to turn his life around. He got out of jail, found a job, and has been clean for 4 years know. He just recently got married again a year ago and is getting his life back together.

So I dont buy this garbage that a person will come out worse from prison then when they went in, it is a personal choice what you choose to do in prison.

Personally I think the judge did this kid a favor!

Oh you poor fool!  I hope one day you find yourself on the other side of the law, just something basic like having an open container in public.  Only then may you realize the justice you are currently approving of is more of a machine than anything else...

The recidivism rate proves you wrong.

People, people, I'm not saying that the kid should be given a pass.  I'm just saying that being a scrapper, plus stealing some beer out of a neighbors garage doesn't require a 10 year sleepover with murders and armed robbers double the kids age.

You are being vindictive rather than wise.

If you can't do the time don't do the crime.

Indeed, but I'd have him do community service first, and if he didn't comply, then escalate to the work detail.

I like this solution a lot. Better to turn the boy around, if possible. A buddy of mine's kid got in to some relatively minor trouble and was put into a "school" that he has to stay at during the week. He gets to come home to his dad's house on weekends. The boy is like a different person now and is in the process of becoming a responsible young man. It happens.

Sounds like mommy hasn't been there since she conceived the brat in the trailer. And no, I do not want the delinquent washing my cruiser. The last time that was about to happen, mommy dropped a DRUNK kid (15 years old) off to do his community service. The judge and his parole officer were really happy about that. To all the crybabies out there, maybe you could volunteer to take this angel into your home, or maybe have him live next door to your parents.If he was caught that many times, just imagine all the crap he got away with...

So when they prosecute a minor as an adult does the minors police record become sealed as it is when they reach 18?
If so then the only thing he was guilty of was burglary, petty theft and escape.

If he had been caught for the burglary and theft and found guilty of them then I would say that the home arrest was the ticket.
Throw in the escape charge and it is clear: He needs to be locked up in a medium security facility. I would need to know what the minimum and maximun sentencening requirements are for these crimes before I pass judgment.

Had the little fuck been caught in my garage by me he would have been looking a "life sentence"...

DriftPunch and Jrzy,

The nice thing about living in our Country is we can have our own opinion and we can voice it. Your opinion is yours and my opinion is mine.

Jrzy, speak your mind, tell me what you need to tell me, I promise I won't be offended by what you have to say.

DriftPunch, don't worry about me being on the otherside of the law, I took an oath to enforce and obey the law not break the law.

I've been in LE for a little over 4yrs and maybe ya'll are LE, probably not by the opinions to have on this topic. You or a family member may or may not have every been a victim of a crime, I don't know. I have seen many things and many peoples opinion change when a crime is commited. I will promise you this, if and when it happens, I or one of my Brother LEO will be the first person you call for help and your statemant will be "why didn't the Police or Court system punish them him/her more." I've heard it a thousand times. I just say maybe they shouldn't have been hugged so much by the tree hugging liberals.

PS: I not saying this applies to you 2 guys, but the only people who bitch about how unfare the laws and punishments are, are the criminals themselves.  

The kid had my sympathy all the way up until I read the part about him having a history of violence. Maybe the judge did what he actually thought was the right thing.

[img]http://www.thegeekhost.com/helfire/funnys/boohoo2.jpg[/img]

So everyone that gets out of prision is doomed, is that it? If that's the case then you've changed my views on the criminal justice system entirely. Throw away the key!

Actually they have educational opportunites in the pen, and every convict released does not recede so spare me your liberal morality.



Or not! Because there'll be another whiny liberal spouting off the same stuff you just did ("don't do it, he'll turn into a hardened criminal! Boo Hoo!!"). How many chances does he get... that depends on how many liberals are involved in the process.



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Right, it's the police who should be ashamed. Your colors are showing.

The magical thinking of many people in the thread scares me.

Fry the little bastard and fry the next one too.

Kee-rist, this country already has more of its citizens incarcerated in jail than any other country save perhaps Russia.  Clearly, prison is a waste of time as a deterent, and as a form of punishment it is mainly a mill that outputs hardcore criminals.  It is not appropriate for minor offenses such as this kid committed.  His sentence should have been Marine boot camp.  He might have turned out to be a useful soldier, as opposed to a leach on society.

Good point. However, I was smart enough not to get caught..

I take it you meant you would shoot and kill this kid for stealing your six pack of beer.
Joe If you shot and killed my 16 year for stealing a six pack out of your garage I would
send you on your way to open the gates of heaven for him by nightfall ,to shoot and kill a unarmed kid over this is murder,and when it comes to my family ,right or wrong we pratice an eye for an eye.
This was not bravado you just read ,we protect and avenge our own and always have.
Just for the record,my kid wouldn't be stealing your beer either.