Greg Woods, a senior lecturer in the Department of Justice Studies at San José State University, said reverting to “tough on crime” laws would only breed more crime in communities and that teenagers and children need to be treated as such.
“We don’t hold legally enforceable contracts between juveniles and adults when it comes to making payments for an apartment or a mortgage or a car. We don’t permit juveniles to purchase alcohol or firearms or to even vote, because we don’t presume that they have the capacity to truly understand the significance of their acts,” Woods said.
“But when it comes to their criminal responsibility, we somehow now have talked ourselves into something that we were entertaining way back in the 1980s and 1990s, that the way we can best preserve our public safety is to guarantee a harsh punishment,” he said.
Law enforcement officials said Monday the shooting in the early evening of Nov. 28 was motivated by gang affiliation. The suspected shooter went to the mall with a group of people while wearing gang-affiliated clothing, spotted an alleged rival gang member, and shot at him, police said.
He fired six bullets, hitting the man he perceived as a rival, narrowly missing a fatal injury, and also hit two bystanders, a woman and a 16-year-old girl, who were not involved in the conflict, authorities said. All three victims were hospitalized and were expected to recover and were released by Monday, officials said.
Rosen said he also plans to file accessory charges against three adults: the shooter’s brother, the brother’s girlfriend and another man who are alleged to have helped the teenager escape and hide after the shooting, before he was arrested on Sunday night. Those charges carry penalties of up to three years in prison if convicted.
Officials said the process to request a transfer to adult court could take weeks or more, and would require probation officers to make a recommendation on whether the transfer should happen. The defense and prosecution can challenge that recommendation, and a judge will make a final ruling.
On Wednesday morning, during a juvenile court hearing, Presiding Judge Julianne Sylva ordered that the suspect remain detained in juvenile hall and have no contact with the three victims while the case progresses, and scheduled his next court hearing for Dec. 15.
The shooting, which caused chaos and sent shockwaves of fear through thousands in a crowded mall on an intensely busy day for shopping, garnered national headlines and eats away at the feeling of safety for people in the South Bay, officials said.
San José Mayor Matt Mahan and Police Chief Paul Joseph, earlier this week, called for changes to state laws to allow for harsher penalties against people who commit gun violence, including minors.
“In California, our laws do not treat gun violence with meaningful consequences. And if you’re a juvenile, the consequences are, quite frankly, almost nonexistent,” Joseph said during a press conference.
