Student charged with assaulting middle-schooler requests attorney
The intersection near Scarlett Middle School where police say a high school student assaulted a middle-schooler.
John Counts | AnnArbor.com
The 16-year-old Huron High School student accused of picking out a Scarlett Middle School student at random and punching him in the face requested a court-appointed attorney at a hearing Friday.
The boy stood before Referee Gail Altenburg at a lectern in the Washtenaw County Court dressed in a tuxedo and answered loudly and clearly in the affirmative when asked by Altenburg if he had received the petition for the misdemeanor assault and battery charge.
"Yes, ma'am," he said. "I did."
The boy's grandmother, who is his legal guardian, and his father accompanied him in the courtroom.
The boy was asked if wanted the court to appoint an attorney and he said that he did. Had he not, the boy would have had the opportunity to admit or deny responsibility in the case. Altenburg set a pretrial date of May 6 at 10 a.m.
The boy is accused of punching a 14-year-old Scarlett Middle School student, breaking out his teeth and knocking him unconscious, at the corner of Lorraine and LaSalle streets in Ann Arbor on Dec. 12.
Police say the 16-year-old and a 15-year-old Huron student not charged in the incident called the 14-year-old over to them on the crowded sidewalks as students were let out of school for the day. The two older boys asked the younger boy if he wanted to hang out, according to police. Before the boy could answer, the 16-year-old punched the younger boy in the face, police said. The 14-year-old didn't know the boy and police believe he was picked at random. The 15-year-old taped the punch with his cell phone's camera, according to the police report. A petition, the equivalent of a warrant, was signed March 8 for a charge of aggravated assault, a misdemeanor punishable by one year of incarceration or a $1,000 fine.
AnnArbor.com does not name juveniles involved in criminal cases unless they're tried as adults.
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Billy
Fri, Jun 21, 2013 : 8:01 p.m.
"Altenburg set a pretrial date of May 6 at 10 a.m." Um....so does that mean it's almost a year away? That is completely and totally unacceptable if so.
Ricardo Queso
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 4:01 p.m.
Just me, but the correct advice he should have received would be to admit responsibility ( I would expect that from my kids) and take the punishment. Volunteer to spend the next year at an alternative school to get a handle on anger management and pay restitution for the apparent dental care that is required by the victim.
KateT
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 12:44 p.m.
John, are you covering the next hearing? I would like to know the back story because my kids are part of this same community.
a2citizen
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 1 p.m.
If you kids are part of the community they should probably be able to provide a more accurate back story than a reporter.
Brad
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 12:42 p.m.
I think Walter White is free between now and when Breaking Bad returns for their last season.
Harm
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 5:21 a.m.
I'd look beyond the tux to the (alleged) unprovoked beating. If it WAS a beating, and unprovoked, the rest of the students need to be protected from this bully..... like on the other side of prison bars, in my opinion. Much longer if it was filmed for facebook, and like a previous poster suggested, sounds like the filmer might be an accessory.
Joe Hood
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 1:27 a.m.
I think the tux in court is a good first step for this kid. Dressing up shows respect for the court. Showing respect for the court shows respect for the system, which will allow the judge to keep this kid in the system instead of incarcerating him and destroying his future. Sounds like this activity is some sort of "get Into the gang thing." And there is a bigger picture going on hear that needs to be addressed or found our.
philmar111
Sun, Apr 21, 2013 : 2:47 p.m.
Your comment is just asinine. Showing up at court in a tux is simply a mockery of that court. Get real.
lynel
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 11:01 p.m.
A tux in juvie court, give me a break!
tdw
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 10:45 p.m.
He better get a hold of Fieger
lefty48197
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 10:12 p.m.
Good judges punish people who commit crimes like this harshly. If this guy is convicted and doesn't get sentenced to at least one year of incarceration then its time to find a new judge.
John of Saline
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 8:25 p.m.
A tux? Nice touch.
Brad
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 12:44 p.m.
He was wearing a TUX. I'm guessing that is pretty uncommon in juvenile court unless someone gets busted at prom.
Peggy
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 12:10 p.m.
JanLyne, The paper reported what he was wearing because it was odd!
arborani
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 2:36 a.m.
Maybe he had a dinner engagement.
JanLyne
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 11:40 p.m.
The 16 year old appeared with his grandmother (Guardian) dressed in a tux. Did his grandmother want him to appear "dressed up" and they borrowed it, did she perhaps have an old one "in the closet", did she think the $40 to rent was important to his appearance. Why did AA.com even mention what he was wearing, is this the norm for all court reporting. Why did AA.com cover a juvenile hearing. Is this the norm and will AA.com continue to report on all hearings. I in no way condone what he did and feel he should be punished but c'mon folks and more importantly c'mon AA.com for even mentioning what he was wearing unless it was done so to elicit comments.
demistify
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 8:44 p.m.
He can afford a tux but wants the taxpayers to pay for an attorney.
Billy
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 8:04 p.m.
"Police say the 16-year-old and a 15-year-old Huron student not charged in the incident called the 14-year-old over to them on the crowded sidewalks as students were let out of school for the day." How about some accessory charges?
LAW
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 7:52 p.m.
So minors who engage in random acts of violence need to be "protected"? They should be responsible for actions like this so they do not become adult abusers.
J. A. Pieper
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 11:43 p.m.
Local, we should meet sometime! I agree with what you are saying, we cannot speak our truth in our learning environment about what is really going on these days. It is pretty sad, and very frustrating to see where education in AAPS is heading.
Sparty
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 6:49 p.m.
What does this have to do with students of color? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard !
local
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 1:41 p.m.
J.A. Peiper you are spot on, I wish I had the guts to speak my truth with the staff and parents I work with on all the issues you just mentioned. Zero consequences for behavior that disrupts everyone else in the classroom. Zero consequences for physically bullying other kids. Zero consequences for parents who don't come to conferences, music concerts, or other important meetings that affect their kids and the school as a whole. Instead we have a BOE that wants to support the alleged criminals and not the victims. I am shocked by the behavior and lack of discipline in our area as a whole, and it seems that it is getting worse, not better.
J. A. Pieper
Sat, Apr 20, 2013 : 1:03 p.m.
LAW, we need to prepare for more of this to happen, as in AAPS we are not allowed to discipline students of color, which now includes three minorities. We are being pushed to set aside our "racial perceptions" of students in the classroom also, as we grade too many of our students as not meeting the goals for Learning and Social behaviors. If a student sits and does nothing related to their learning in the classroom, we have a comments we can mark related to being invested in learning, or completes work independently, or uses time wisely. It seems we are not understanding certain student cultures when we mark them as Needs to Improve, or Making Progress. So now there is a push to have all students marked Satisfactory in these Learning and Social behaviors, and stop "seeing" these classroom behaviors through our prejudiced eyes/thinking. No honesty can happen related to some students in AAPS, so along with the Discipline Gap initiative, we are being told we are racist when we mark students below satisfactory in this area. There is no expectation for responsibility in this school system any more. Our "minors" are being taught by AAPS guidelines that they do not have to be responsible for anything.
Carole
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 10:33 p.m.
Problem of the day - no one seems to think that they need to be responsible for their acts. It is very sad.
alarictoo
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 7:40 p.m.
Sounds like more of this 'Knockout Game' baloney. With the level of implied planning, and/or conspiring with the video recording by the accomplice, there is the very real possibility of the 16 year-old being tried as an adult on this charge. It sounds like it was fairly brutal "The boy is accused of punching a 14-year-old Scarlett Middle School student, breaking out his teeth and knocking him unconscious, at the corner of Lorraine and LaSalle streets in Ann Arbor on Dec. 12. Police say the 16-year-old and a 15-year-old Huron student not charged in the incident called the 14-year-old over to them on the crowded sidewalks as students were let out of school for the day. The two older boys asked the younger boy if he wanted to hang out, according to police. Before the boy could answer, the 16-year-old punched the younger boy in the face, police said. The 14-year-old didn't know the boy and police believe he was picked at random. The 15-year-old taped the punch with his cell phone's camera, according to the police report."
Doug
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 7:33 p.m.
A 16 year old isn't responsible for his actions? Nuts! Someone's future cellmate!
halflight
Fri, Apr 19, 2013 : 7:14 p.m.
While it's good that you're not naming the minors involved, I wasn't aware that annarbor.com had a policy of covering juvenile court procedures. There's a reason that these defendants are in juvenile court--they're minors, and not criminally responsible for their actions. What's the news value of publicizing this petition, versus the possible harm to the minors, both victim and respondent?