A group of teens crashed a stolen vehicle into a flower shop after a pursuit in South LA Wednesday morning.
Just before 12:30 a.m. a short pursuit began and ended when the driver lost control and went crashing into the business at the corner of Gage Avenue and Figueroa Street.
Inside the vehicle were four teens between the ages of 12 and 15. When police ran the license plates they came back as stolen.
Police are investigating if the teens were impaired at the time of the incident. The driver was taken to the hospital after complaining of pain.
According to police, the three others were arrested and cited. They will be released back to their parents.
The car was stolen from a cancer patient who used it to get to her treatments. Just because they are released does not mean they won’t be punished, though.
However, most of the time, two attorneys who spoke with NBC4 said, the eventual punishment means they are sent home on probation or to a juvenile rehabilitation cam. Only in very rare cases are they tried as an adult.
“I anticipate they’ll get nothing more than home on probation. They’ll be sent back home, where they came from, with certain terms the court will lay out and ask the parents to enforce those terms,” Sam Dordulian said.
Treating a 15 year old the same way we treat a 30 year old is not humane, it’s not just and it’s not fair.
“There’s a consensus within the legal community and the psychological community that treating a 14 year old like a 30 year old, you’re going to create a criminal,” Ambrosio Rodriguez said.
