14-Year-Old Girl Arrested On Grand Theft Charges -- For Fifth Time (in 5 months)

[The Straight Story]

14-Year-Old Girl Arrested On Grand Theft Charges -- For Fifth Time


A 14-year-old girl in Central Florida was arrested on grand theft charges Wednesday for the fifth time in five months, according to a Local 6 News report.

Local 6 showed video of Jatteria Nixon, 14, being taken into custody Wednesday after being captured by Orange County's specialized auto trap unit.

"This is her fifth grand theft auto arrest in five months," Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Carlos Espinosa said.

"Nixon has become a poster child for what authorities are calling a juvenile crime epidemic," Local 6's Jessica D'Onofrio said. "It's frustrating for authorities because these kids only stay in detention or jail for such a short period of time."

http://www.local6.com/news/11138305/detail.html

[WI_DEM]

1. that picture seems to indicate she doesn't really care

[karlrschneider]

2. Probably safe to predict she won't ever be another Coretta King.

:eyes:

[AlCzervik]

3. she's obviously mechanically inclined, she needs some direction and

guidance, who knows maybe she could be an engineer.

[Quantess]

29. or at the very least, a Repo woman. (no text)

[noonwitch]

32. I was thinking more along the lines of a NASCAR driver

She could help to integrate the sport.

Really, though, there is nothing funny about this. I'll bet there's more to this story, because it appears to be extreme attention-seeking behavior.

[benddem]

4. strikes me

that she isn't very good at what she is doing. If she's been arrested 5 times. Maybe she should pick another line of theft. :sarcasm: Makes you wonder how she grew up.

[ls317]

5. Question???

Where in the hell is the mother,grandmother or any family member with some type of common sense.I am sure there is at least one.

[WI_DEM]

6. good question, but with five arrests I don't think she will be going home any time soon.

[ls317]

7. True

Hell it shouldnt have gotten to a total of five,hell thats four too many!

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. Maybe

the whole family is messed up.

[Cerridwen]

14. She's a runaway from a "state program" - no family mentioned

From this article here

Investigators said Nixon is a runaway from a state program. There was no word on how long she will stay in custody this time, but deputies worry that, when she gets out again, she'll steal another car.

Local judges said their hands are tied when it comes to juvenile offenders like Nixon. In many cases, state laws mandates the offenders get probation and are sent home.

The Orange County School Board is making efforts to change that. District lawyers are working with state lawmakers, drafting legislation that would allow judges to given juveniles harsher sentences.

[Freddie Stubbs]

30. Or where her father is?

[SmokingJacket]

9. Why would a kid be like that?

Because she has nothing better in her life than the attention and thrills she gets from stealing. And that's incredibly sad.

[ls317]

11. Hmmmm

No stable home life, no male figure or father in the home??? Poor self esteem as a whole??? Do I need to keep going?

[SmokingJacket]

17. That's what I mean.

Kids don't act that way "just because."

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

10. She needs to find another line of work. As a thief she's a flop. Maybe politics?

[Divernan]

12. She does stick her toung out at photographers, just like Jenna.

Can one of you computer whizzes put up a split screen of the two of them?

[KansDem]

13. Just curious, but why do we know her name and see a photo of her?

I thought juveniles were supposed to have some kind of anonymity. How often have we read "Name withheld due to the age of the suspect" or some such statement.

[ls317]

16. When Juveniles are charged with adult crimes..( Felony)

It then becomes a matter of public record....

[KansDem]

19. THANKS!!!

That explains it...:hi:

[MADem]

15. What ever happened to reform school? I guess they only have

juvenile detention and boot camps, but no residential reform schools anymore.

[ieoeja]

25. We have them in Chicago. But maybe not in Florida? n/t

[Robson]

27. Reform School

LOL. When many boomers and older were young that was the threat that was always hung over their heads. If you're bad, you go to reform school. That's passe now, or because there are too many young juveniles running wild to deal with.

[ieoeja]

33. No, it's because we got cheap and mean.

I would bet the majority of Americans today would tell you that "rehabilitation never works". That's bullshit, of course. But it is what most Americans believe today. And by that logic, if they can not be rehabilited, then we may just as well toss them into jail and throw away the key.

So now we go for Three-Strikes laws that send first time offenders to jail for life. We treat drunk driving like attempted murder. We routinely charge juveniles as adults for even petty crimes (many on DU were agreeing with a prosecutor's decision to do just that for a kid charged with dumping ice water on a senior citizen on three separate occasions).

[Horse with no Name]

18. Well obviously sitting her down with milk and cookies isn't going to help

She can't continue to steal cars. She is going to end up hurting herself or someone else while at the wheel of these stolen vehicles.
They are going to have to do some tough love with her. She is going to have to be locked up...I agree with reform school or something like that.:shrug:

[Hippo_Tron]

21. Unfortunately prison will probably just make her worse

It amazes me that we can't seem to find a system that properly reforms juvenile criminals. I don't believe that anyone is a lost cause at age 14. Maybe at age 16 or 17, yes.

[Horse with no Name]

23. The structure of a reform school

is what she needs.
Prison not so much.
Not time to throw her away. But she can't continue doing this.:(

[ieoeja]

26. Almost noone needs to be just thrown away.

I wish we could get away from that concept altogether. But I guess we have to battle for saving the children before we move back (remember the 60s and 70s?) to fighting to save the young adults those children become when we do NOT make any effort to correct their behavior.

[Hippo_Tron]

34. I think she needs a reform school and a family

I think it's clear that what she is lacking is discipline and love.

[Robson]

35. Children need love and guidance between 0--5 yo first

The problem is that parental love, affection and guidance are needed during the early formative years. Once a child is raised lacking this, the problems become hardwired and at 14 it takes major efforts to change them if possible.

We humans aren't that different the animal kingdom. As an example, a cat raised as a feral will almost always be antisocial. We humans must chose to either use birth control or have children only if they can be raised properly with love and guidance. Absent that possibility, parents should give them up as babies for adoption or get an abortion. Society can ill afford the cost of children that aren't given some basic foundation.

[Hippo_Tron]

36. But we're faced with the cost of children that aren't given basic foundation

And I do believe that there must be some solution to that.

[Robson]

37. Compassion wanes

How many times have we heard after an innocent person or family is killed....but she/he had a rap sheet that was 5 pages long? What was he/she doing on the streets?

My compassion begins to wane after the first rap sheet is filled with crimes of increasing seriousness and violence. If it was up to me I'd look at the need to warehouse such incorrigibles on an island somewhere, because they end up not only harming innocent people, but they contaminate and create others in their likeness.

[Hippo_Tron]

38. For me it's not an issue of compassion, it's a monetary cost to society...

To lock people up. There will always be some criminals, but in America it's an epidemic compared to other civilized nations. There has to be something we are doing wrong that creates all of this crime.

[Robson]

39. I'm somewhat of a hard nose

I have no idea why poor people end up using crime as a crutch. In the Great Depression poverty did not equal increased crime, violent or otherwise. Today it does. It is driven by many factors, much of it peer driven. Successful rappers and sports figures could provide examples for youth but they usually provide negative examples.

Speaking of cost of crime, I am one of the many many Democrats who believe that by not strongly enforcing our immigration laws over the years that we have just raised the cost to society for crime prevention and the lowering of wages and benefits to all Americans.

Crime and poverty are definitely linked although we could discuss forever what the root cause is. Illegal immigrants are creating serious crime and gang problems that is going to be very costly to the country.

The USA needs to look at immigration in the national interest just as Canada does and most other nations. If you aren't educated or skilled don't bother coming here. We want people assets, not bodies to do low skilled work. But that's a whole other issue. Don't want to hijack the thread.

[helderheid]

20. What the hell is up with Florida??

[Robson]

28. It's in the water

Florida has more than its share of problems. Anytime I hear of Florida in the news it seems to be bad news....kidappings, Foley, hanging chads, fraudulent elections, criminal activity of all kinds, etc.

[gravity]

22. What should they do with her?

She obviously has some serious problems right now, but I'm wondering if there is anything to do to reform her.

I think she should go to jail for a while, but I don't know if that is actually going to change her attitude when she gets out. I am afraid going too soft on her isn't going to help either, and that she needs a serious wake up call.

Are there any successful juvenile delinquent programs that are proven to work successfully, or is she a lost cause?

[Elidor]

24. Umm...why are they releasing the name and image of a minor?

That is fucked up. No matter how hardcore she is, she should be entitled to certain protections as a minor. Like anonymity. Fucking Florida...I'll be there's a lengthy thread on this over at Fark.

[Freddie Stubbs]

31. She was likely charged as an adult

[Selatius]

40. Who are her parents? Where are they in all this?

Inquiring minds like to know.