Nicole Ardila
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA)– Families affected by youth violence told state lawmakers this week they are frustrated by what they see as weak consequences for juveniles who commit violent crimes.
The comments came during a public safety task force meeting held at the Las Cruces Public Schools building, where Republican legislators heard testimony from law enforcement and family members of victims.
Alicia Otero, whose son Elias was shot and killed by a 17-year-old in Albuquerque four years ago, said the loss permanently changed her life.
“I died right there with him, and I just pushed forward,” Otero said.
Otero called on the state Legislature to impose tougher penalties for violent juvenile offenders, including mandatory jail time. She said her son’s killer had already been responsible for two deaths and was ultimately sentenced to 29 years in prison.
She and other families said they felt compelled to testify before the panel in hopes of influencing upcoming legislation.
Although the task force was organized by Republican lawmakers, speakers stressed the issue should not be viewed through a partisan lens.
“This issue is just so very important and knows no parties,” one lawmaker said.
The meeting began with a presentation by Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story and the Farmington police chief, focusing on juvenile crime in Las Cruces. Story showed videos of teenagers firing guns from vehicles and shooting toward homes and cars.
Story said many juvenile cases are ultimately dismissed because courts find defendants not competent to stand trial. He also shared text messages and calls between teens who appeared to boast about avoiding consequences.
“He posted, ‘You get away with murder if you do it right,’” Story said. “Technically, it was attempted murder that he got away with, but it’s not that hard to do it.”
One of the legislators co-chairing the task force said the issue is personal. She said her son, Jayden, was killed 10 years ago at age 17 by repeat violent juvenile and adult offenders.
“I swore that his life would not be lost in vain,” she said.
The New Mexico Legislature is set to convene Jan. 20 for a 30-day session. Task force leaders said they are confident legislation aimed at cracking down on juvenile crime will be approved.
“The facts are that every juvenile that we’ve had that has been found incompetent under the state competency system has been found competent in the federal system. The process is different. The evaluators are different. There’s a restoration process that’s different if they are found incompetent. But we haven’t even gotten to that point because they’re found competent,” said Story.
New Mexico republican legislators are hosting a public legislative taskforce focused on juvenile crime and the public is invited to share input and listen to the discussion.
Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Story says juvenile crime expands from misdemeanors, burglary to homicide and first-degree murder.
“It’s shattered lives to shattered countless families on both ends of that incident,” said Chief Story. “And that’s just one, one tragedy we had. There’s so many others that have occurred.”
Earlier this year, one adult and three teenagers were charged with first-degree murder in the Young Park Mass Shooting in March.
State Representative Nicole Chavez of Albuquerque will be attending the taskforce as she also lost her son to gun violence, and continues to push for change.
“Their behavior becomes more and more violent and they end up taking a life, and my son was too precious, and I love him far too much to just let him, die with with not changing anything,” says Rep. Chavez.
Her son was murdered at 17 years old, shot in the lung during a fight at a house party, just before he was about to enter the Air Force Academy.
Chavez believes convicted juveniles need to spend more time behind bars with a longer sentencing and face accountability and rehabilitate before they get released and commit the same crime or worse.
She says the solution is educating those on the wrong side of the law, and found that out by speaking to one of her son’s murderers.
“If they’re not in there long enough, and if they’re not seeing that, how are we ever going to get them out of that cycle?” Chavez explains.
Chief Story says he’s seen children as young as 12 years old commit violent crimes involving guns, and believes parents need to step up and be involved in their children’s lives as many have just one or no parents — some even have criminal parents.
The chief says when teens look up to each other as parental figures.
“A 14-year-old is looking to a 16-year-old as a father figure and that’s just a recipe for disaster,” he says. “What we’re doing is not working, it’s not about locking up kids for life. It’s about the goal is to stop them from committing crimes in the first place.”
Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe, and New Mexico Department of Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Jason Bowie, as well as state prosecutors and victims of juvenile crime will be attending as well.
The taskforce runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Las Cruces Public Schools Board Room on 505 S. Main Street, Suite 249, Las Cruces, NM.
The forum is open to anyone to speak without any time limits.
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