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Hennepin County accused of abandonment
A teenager’s year-long journey through Minnesota’s juvenile justice system is exposing the state’s failure to provide adequate care and rehabilitation for young children accused of committing violent crimes.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A teenager’s year-long journey through Minnesota’s juvenile justice system is exposing the state’s failure to provide adequate care and rehabilitation for young children accused of committing violent crimes.
Teenager accused of shooting someone at a bus stop last year
What we know:
The FOX 9 Investigators started tracking the now 13-year-old boy’s legal cases after he was first detained last August. He was illegally locked up in the Hennepin County Juvenile Justice Center for several weeks because there was nowhere else for him to go for care.
After he was ultimately released back to his family, the teenager was accused of shooting someone at a bus stop last November, according to court records reviewed by the FOX 9 Investigators.
The child is currently being held in an unsecured facility in Anoka County.
Hennepin County officials have maintained he should be in a locked, secure setting because of his violent track record and history of running away.
However, Hennepin County has refused to pick the child up and was recently accused of abandoning him.
FOX 9 is not identifying the child by name due to his age.
Hennepin County tried to place teen in 49 treatment centers
Dig deeper:
Hennepin County applied to 49 different programs across 10 states to provide care for the teenager.
So far, every facility has been unwilling to admit the child, including the four Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTF) in Minnesota that provide services to children with complex mental health conditions.
The FOX 9 Investigators found last year that of the hundreds of kids referred for high-level care, only a small fraction are actually admitted.
As a result, the teenager remains in Anoka County, where he was recently accused of assaulting a staff member in an unsecured group home, according to court records.
Hennepin County has refused to take custody of the child despite a court order and numerous requests to move the child.
Hennepin County accused of ‘abandonment’
What they're saying:
In one court filing, Michelle Barnes, Assistant Anoka County Attorney, accused Hennepin County of "abandonment."
In a statement to the FOX 9 Investigators, a Hennepin County spokesperson said she could not comment on an individual case but said safety is a "critical goal" for any young person.
"Minnesota lacks sufficient capacity to safely care for youth with the most complex needs," Carolyn Marinan said. "This is a multilayered problem that requires collaboration at the state and local levels."
Jamil Jackson, a youth violence intervention specialist who has worked with some of the most troubled kids in Minneapolis, is hopeful the teenager will find the help and care that he needs.
"I was him," said Jackson. "Maybe not doing the extreme levels of some of the crimes that he's committed, but I understand the plight, I understand where he is coming from, I understand actually having more intellect than I am being given credit for, but stuck in a fishbowl that I can’t get out of."
Timeline:
Court records paint a complex picture of the child. He has a passion for producing music and enjoys boxing. But he has also been consistently truant from school and is coping with the deaths of several friends. The teenager had a "significant number of violent juvenile cases" referred to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office before he turned 11-years-old, according to the records.
In one filing, his mom stated she feared her son "would kill himself or someone else."
Court records indicate he first faced criminal charges in January 2024.
He was released from juvenile detention last fall because he was deemed incompetent and could no longer be legally detained. The FOX 9 Investigators previously reported Hennepin County had violated that law for several weeks because they could not find a treatment facility to take the child.
"They are setting him up for a life-long stint in prison. They are making him comfortable with that environment," said Jackson, the youth violence intervention specialist. "I don't think within that system there's really an end for a kid to find his way out."
A judge ultimately ordered the teen back into the care of his mother who said she would take him to Chicago to live with family.
He never made it past the state line.
The teen jumped out of his mother’s car and remained on the run for several more weeks.
While on the run, Minneapolis police say he shot someone at close range at a bus stop last November.
The victim suffered life-threatening injuries and reported first being run over by the "Kia Boyz."
They drove away in a Kia Sportage before returning to the scene 30 seconds later. That is when the juvenile offender is seen exiting the vehicle and firing at least two rounds at the helpless victim, according to court records.
The victim identified the 13-year-old by his street nickname and eventually picked him out in a suspect photo lineup.
He was eventually arrested in Illinois and extradited back to Minnesota last February on attempted murder charges.
However, he was again found incompetent, which means the criminal charges are suspended, and he cannot be held in juvenile detention.
The courts have ruled it is no longer safe for the boy to go home with his mother.
Hennepin County previously filed a child protection report against the mother in January for "neglect." She was also accused of disposing of a gun for the boy by throwing it into the river.
That report was later rescinded but her most recent request for custody was denied.
FOX 9 is not naming the mother to protect the identity of her child.
Younger offenders and more violent crime
The backstory:
The FOX 9 Investigators reported extensively on the crisis within the juvenile justice system as police encountered younger offenders committing more violent crimes including shootings, carjackings and armed robberies.
Law enforcement complained they were catching those juveniles only to have them quickly released by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Sarah Davis, Director of the Children and Families Division at the county attorney’s office, previously told the FOX 9 Investigators that kids under the age of 13 are often ruled incompetent due to their young age, which means they must be released from the detention facility.
"I never had a client under the age of 13 who was competent and who was found competent to move forward. And it is not a situation where it is optional," Davis said.
What's next:
The teenager is expected to remain in the non-secure program in Anoka County for at least several more weeks.
He will be back in court in Hennepin County in August for a child protection hearing that could decide where he goes next.
Hennepin County expects to open a new youth stabilization center this fall that will add up to 15 beds for children in need of complex care.
The county invested $22 million into the project last year after the FOX 9 Investigators revealed how many kids have nowhere to go.
The new center will focus on providing services in a secure setting to children like the 13-year-old who has bounced in and out of custody over the past year.