SAN ANTONIO — When a 14-year-old stood before juvenile judge William Cruz Shaw Wednesday, a probation official told the judge the teen is no stranger to court.
The boy, they said, has previous appearances that include “Possession of marijuana. Resisting arrest. Evading arrest. Burglary of a vehicle. Unauthorized use of a vehicle. Criminal mischief.” And she added, “A sealed warrant with three counts of aggravated robbery that was amended to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.”
His appearance on Wednesday was in connection with yet another alleged crime.
San Antonio police said the teen was one of four people who burglarized a south-side salon on Pleasanton Road Jan. 17.
After an extensive pursuit by air and ground, the incident ended in the 1200 block of Edison, where they said a police K-9 helped capture the four suspects.
At the time, police said they believe the suspects appear to be involved in multiple previous burglaries and robberies.
In court, both the probation representative and the prosecutor told the judge they believe the teen should be detained because he poses a continuing danger, as he has refused to return home for the past three months.
The teen’s mom told the judge confidently, “I feel he needs to be detained. He needs to learn his lesson and own up to everything he’s done. It’s not a game.”
The mother described a harrowing event several months ago when the teen almost died after the stolen vehicle he was in with friends crashed.
“He just recently had his head stitched up,” the mother said. “They found him and I think the stop sign sliced his head open.”
Admonishing the teen for his behavior, Shaw said, “It sounds like you are about that life. You need to quit playing games.”
Shaw told the teen, “Your attorney can only do so much. Your mom can only do so much. If you want to go down this road let’s go down this road.”
A 13-year-old accused of being in the vehicle during the crime spree also made an appearance, his second.
Probation officials told the judge the teen was seen in October on a charge of evading arrest, where he was given a six-month chance to do better.
The judge heard about a family conflict involving the teen in which the father believed the boy should be detained, but the mother wanted the teen to be released to her care.
Given a chance to speak the teen said, “I really do apologize and I know I did wrong by breaking into that store and evading arrest. I should have just gave up myself and got arrested.”
Shaw reminded the teen that in Texas, decisions about breaking and entering can lead to deadly consequences.
Shaw told the teen, “You live in Texas. You break into the wrong house, the wrong building or the wrong car? Mom isn’t going to a detention hearing.”
The teen acknowledged the danger, telling the judge, “Yes sir. I could end up getting shot or whatever.”
Shaw advised the teen to think before acting and then ruled that he must remain in detention, having failed to succeed once before when he was released on a monitor.
Both teens are scheduled to return to court for their next detention hearing on Feb. 5.