United States v. Juvenile, Crim. Nos. 1996–86
| Decision Date | 31 March 1998 |
| Docket Number | Crim. Nos. 1996–86,1996–91. |
| Citation | 38 V.I. 392 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. JUVENILE (I.H., Jr.), Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Virgin Islands |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
The government moved to have a juvenile charged with violent crimes transferred for criminal prosecution as an adult. —The District Court, Moore, Chief Judge, held that the “brutal” nature of the juvenile's alleged actions, his age and his self-characterization as a hardened criminal, tipped the balance in favor of adult trial, despite the lack of a prior record and the availability of treatment options if the juvenile was retained in the juvenile system.
Transfer motion granted. Audrey L. Thomas–Francis, Asst. U.S. Atty., St. Thomas, V.I., for plaintiff.
W. Mark Hillsman, Dudley, Clark & Chan, St. Thomas, V.I., for respondent.
This matter is before the Court on the motion of the United States to transfer the respondent [“I.H.”], a juvenile, for criminal prosecution as an adult.1 The Court has jurisdiction in this matter pursuant to Revised Organic Act of 1954 § 22, 48 U.S.C. § 1612, and 18 U.S.C. § 5032. For reasons set forth below, the motion to transfer will be granted.
A similar motion to transfer I.H. to be prosecuted as an adult was granted by the Court after a hearing. Because the required form of the certification that I.H. had no prior juvenile record in this territory was not in the proper form, the Court of Appeals held that this Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain or grant the earlier motion.2Impounded (Juvenile I.H., Jr.), 120 F.3d 457, 460 (3d Cir.1997). At a status conference after the Court of Appeals remanded the case back to this Court, all parties and the Court agreed a de novo hearing on the motion for transfer was required. On that basis, the Court has not considered evidence from the first hearing in its deliberation on the present motion to transfer, even though there is authority to do so. See, United States v. Juvenile Male, 956 F.2d 169, 171 (8th Cir.1991)(where same judge presides at both hearings, district court had right to incorporate at a subsequent hearing on motion to transfer transcript of prior hearing vacated for lack of jurisdiction despite respondent's objection that transcript was inadmissible hearsay).
There are two separate criminal actions consolidated for consideration in the motion for transfer. The Court will first lay out the relevant facts in each then discuss the testimony given at the hearing on the instant motion.
On October 18, 1995, at approximately 7:40 p.m., a young male flagged down a husband and wife as they were driving home in the Scott Free area of St. Thomas. The assailant pointed a gun at the wife's head and ordered her to get out of the car. After they dismounted, the same gunman ordered them to get into the back seat of the car. A second male got into the driver's seat; a third got into the front passenger seat. The gunman sat in the back with the two victims.
Investigation led police to an adult suspect, Duncan Connor. Under interrogation he admitted he was the passenger in the front seat of the car and that the gunman was I.H.
After their abduction, the victims were driven up the Scott Free Road to the Four Corners area. Duncan Connor maintained that it was I.H. who told the driver of the car, later identified as another adult, David Thompson, to drive the car to “Naked Island” also known as Little Magens Beach. The female victim corroborated Connor's account that the gunman in the back seat was giving the orders and appeared to her to have been in charge throughout their assault.
At some point during the drive to Little Megans, I.H. became upset that the driver, Thompson, was laughing and driving erratically. I.H. told Thompson to shut up and, when he didn't, I.H. fired a shot through the windshield of the car.
When they arrived at Little Megans, I.H ordered everyone from the car. According to the female victim, I.H. held the gun on her and her husband while Connor and Thompson searched them, removing their possessions. I.H. then ordered everyone to the beach. Connor related that I.H. told the victims that if anyone resisted, “blood would be flying.”
Once down at the beach, the female victim was separated from her husband, and both were ordered to undress. The female victim told police she was raped twice. On each assault, one of her attackers held her ankles while she was raped. She could not say exactly which of the three attackers raped her. She was then forced to perform oral sodomy three times. Although, she could not identify exactly which of her three attackers forced her into these acts, Connor related that he saw I.H. force the victim to perform oral sodomy.
I.H. was arrested and charged with: car-jacking [18 U.S.C. § 2119]; possession of a firearm during a crime of violence [18 U.S.C. § 924(c)]; aggravated rape [V.I. CODE ANN. tit. 14, § 1700(c)(1996)]; robbery in the first degree [14 V.I.C. § 1862]; juvenile delinquency [18 U.S.C. § 5031]; and, aiding and abetting [14 V.I.C. § 11].
Less than a month later, at about 5:30 p.m. on November 15, 1995, another husband and wife, owners of the Emerald Lady jewelry store in Charlotte–Amalie, St. Thomas, had closed their business for the day and were in the process of securing the jewelry in the store's vault. They heard a knock on the door and when the owner called out asking who was there, a male voice responded, “It's John.” When the owner opened the door, a young male pointed a gun in his face, entered the store and ordered the owner and his wife onto the floor. Another young man, also armed with a handgun, followed seconds later. Neither gunman wore a mask.
The gunmen took a large diamond ring valued at approximately $17,000 from the wife and about $250,000 in jewelry from the store's vault. One of the victims identified I.H. out of a photo array as the gunman who had first entered the jewelry store and ordered them to the ground.
Investigation led police to a confidential informant who related that I.H. had admitted robbing the jewelry store with another man. I.H. is charged in this case with violation of the Hobbs Act [18 U.S.C. § 1951], possession of a firearm during a crime of violence [18 U.S.C. § 924(c)], juvenile delinquency [18 U.S.C. § 5031], robbery in the first degree [14 V.I.C. § 1700(c)], and assault in the first degree [14 V.I.C. § 295].
A hearing was held February 19, 20, and 23, 1998, on the government's motion for transfer. The Court will first provide a brief synopsis of each side's pertinent witness testimony and then a summary of the other information it has considered in deciding this motion.
The government called a number of witnesses familiar with I.H. and his relevant conduct or familiar with programs available to treat youthful offenders charged with similar crimes. The witnesses were: Jeanette Smith, Principal of the Charlotte–Amalie High School [“CAHS”]; Dr. Diane Brinker, a social worker in private practice here; Janet Turnbull–Krigger and Tracey Bouganeau, social workers with the Virgin Islands Department of Human Services; Barbara Madden, special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation [“FBI”]; Dr. Rita Dudley–Grant, a psychologist in private practice; Sergeant Curtis Griffin, an officer of the Virgin Islands Police Department; James Horvath, a Court Security Officer of this Court; and Dr. Lenard Lexier, a psychiatrist specializing in working with juvenile offenders.
Jeanette Smith, principal of CAHS, testified regarding I.H.'s time as a student there. I.H. was an average student who was dismissed from school in January, 1996, during his junior year. I.H. had been found in school with a fully loaded .357 magnum pistol. School records introduced through Ms. Smith confirm that I.H. was dismissed because of the gun. These records further show at least one other run in with authority. While a seventh grader, I.H. brought a BB gun to school and, when it was confiscated, stole the gun from the principal's office.
Two other acts of indiscipline bear special mention. In 1993, I.H. assaulted another student by holding a freshly sharpened pencil to her eye. When questioned about his conduct, I.H. refused to express remorse or sorrow. The record reflects that he rather saw this as a joke. Although the incident was brought to the attention of his parents, no other action was taken by school officials. In 1995, I.H. received a five-day suspension from school for having broken into a teacher's closet to remove copies of a test.
Dr. Brinker was next to testify and did so based upon her professional familiarity with treatment programs for both juvenile and adult sex offenders here in the Virgin Islands. Though a trained, professional social worker, she had not interviewed I.H. personally. Dr. Brinker stated that there are no facilities in the Virgin Islands where juvenile sex offenders may be treated. Further, based upon her own experience working with adult sex offenders, she testified that extended treatment is required in these cases. Indeed, in her opinion, sex offenders are never cured and require continued treatment and therapy, oftentimes for the rest of their lives.
Janet Turnbull–Krigger, a supervising social worker with the Virgin Islands Department of Human Services, testified next. She detailed treatment programs available to juveniles through her department. Considering the fact that I.H. is now nineteen years of age, there appears little her department can now provide. According to her testimony, her department loses jurisdiction over adjudicated juvenile delinquents at the age of eighteen. She did participate in one interview of I.H. in April, 1996. On that basis, and in consultation with members of her staff, she recommended that I.H. be continued in juvenile status for...
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