Paying the Price for D.C.'s Juvenile 'Supervision'

By the end of the robbery spree during the early hours of June 4, four innocent people in the District had fallen victim to holdups.

Two were forced to give up cellphones, car keys and wallets. The last victim, robbed at a different location, turned over money and car keys. One of the robbers drove off in her car.

Within hours, D.C. police apprehended the two robbers and recovered a black Sig Pro semiautomatic handgun used in the stickups.

Last month, the two defendants pleaded guilty in D.C. Superior Court to two counts of armed robbery. They await sentencing.

One is 18 years old. The gunman in both robberies is 16. He was prosecuted as an adult.

Yes, I know, there's so much else going on in the world. Why devote limited newspaper space to yet another story about D.C. juvenile offenders?

Maybe it's because I can't get my head around the thought of 16- and 18-year-old youths roaming the streets at 3 a.m., looking for a chance to stick a double-action semiautomatic handgun in someone's face so they can take what doesn't belong to them.

Maybe it's because this 16-year-old boy is headed for years in an adult jail, where he's likely to come out even worse than he went in.

The reality is that the streets are home for many District youths. D.C. Council member Jim Graham, who tracks juvenile activity through the Citywide Coordinating Council, says there are 47 gangs, crews and "neighborhood groups" -- including three girl gangs -- in the city.

Public schools are competing against the lure of crime -- and crime seems to be winning: More than 1,700 juveniles have been arrested in Washington since January.

So I can't let go.

So I could learn more about youth crime and the court's role, the D.C. Superior Court granted me access to the juvenile records of the two young robbers cited above after I agreed not to disclose their identities.