{"id":17899,"date":"2013-08-26T09:14:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-26T13:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=17899"},"modified":"2013-08-26T12:10:27","modified_gmt":"2013-08-26T16:10:27","slug":"prosecutor-teen-robber-belongs-in-adult-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=17899","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutor: Teen robber belongs in adult system"},"content":{"rendered":"

Despite infractions at schools, prison, defense urges juvenile placement\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

By Kathleen Brady Shea<\/span><\/strong>, Managing Editor, The Times<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/a>The attorney for a 17-year-old charged as an adult for his role in an armed home invasion in Birmingham Township this past spring argued on Friday that his client belongs in the juvenile system, a position vehemently opposed by the Chester County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

During a daylong hearing before Chester County Judge David F. Bortner, Robert J. Bush, who represents Daniel K. Waltson, presented a single witness, a forensic psychologist. Assistant District Attorney Brian D. Burack presented six live witnesses; a state prison official who testified by video; and an impact statement from one of the victims.<\/p>\n

Bortner took the matter under advisement and said he would issue his decision on Sept. 4 at 1:30 p.m.; however, his questions and comments strongly suggested that he was leaning toward juvenile placement.<\/p>\n

According to earlier testimony, one of the robbery victims, Rachel Yalisove, had just returned from a shopping trip with her mother, Karen Wroblewski, about 3 p.m. on March 19. When she walked into their Birmingham Township residence, a man shrouded by a red bandana pointed a silver pistol in her face from about three feet away. The confrontation caused her to run and scream for her mother, who was behind her, to do the same.<\/p>\n

Yalisove, who did not appear on Friday, submitted an impact statement that described the experience as scarring. She said she had been looking forward to a relaxing visit home from college during spring break and instead returned to school \u201ctraumatized and exhausted.\u201d She said her home, once her \u201csafe haven,\u201d is now a place that unnerves her with an anxiety that has proven pervasive.<\/p>\n

Police said the teens were Waltson and Alexander W. Granger, 18, who is awaiting trial. Waltson was charged as an adult because of the seriousness of the crimes, prosecutors said. Investigators were able to track the pair because they used a wheeled trashcan that left tracks when they carted the stolen goods from the Wroblewski home to Granger\u2019s nearby residence.<\/p>\n

Investigators said Waltson threw a brick through a window to gain entry into the home, where the teens stole jewelry, electronics, coins and two .357 Smith and Wesson pistols. They allegedly took the guns with them when they went back to the home for a second load and were confronted by the returning residents, police said.<\/p>\n

Psychologist Bruce Mapes testified that Waltson had a difficult childhood. He said Waltson never knew his mother, who had mental-health problems, was estranged from his father, and was raised by his grandparents. Mapes said the death of Waltson\u2019s grandfather six years ago after a two-year bout with cancer was extremely painful.<\/p>\n

Mapes said Waltson was correctly diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) when he was 14 but was never treated for it. Mapes said he did not believe the ADHD contributed to the crimes, but it did prompt Waltson to act out in school. However, Waltson’s infractions never rose to the level that involved him in the juvenile-justice system, Mapes said. \u201cI don\u2019t condone what he did \u2026 It\u2019s my professional opinion that he\u2019s amenable to treatment in the juvenile system,\u201d Mapes said.<\/p>\n

Testifying for the prosecution, East Marlborough Township Police Lt. Robert C. Clarke Jr. said he had contact with Waltson twice: once when he was cited for marijuana possession at Unionville High in 2011 and once when he was arrested for underage drinking in January 2012. A third indirect contact occurred in March, Clarke testified, when a letter Waltson had written from prison to a friend was intercepted by the friend\u2019s mother and taken to the police station.<\/p>\n

Read by Clarke, the letter included a rant against \u201ccorrupt\u201d authorities and said Waltson did not belong in the \u201cbig-boy jail \u2026 for a crime I didn\u2019t commit.\u201d The letter said police \u201cforced Granger into thinking he was getting 20 years,\u201d which is why Granger confessed.<\/p>\n

Burack also called Charles Lawson, a correctional counselor at Chester County Prison. Lawson said despite repeated warnings to Waltson to avoid infractions that could adversely affect his transfer to the juvenile system, the teen misbehaved so frequently that he has earned a year\u2019s worth of restrictions.<\/p>\n

But Lawson\u2019s testimony was cut short by the judge. Bortner said Waltson\u2019s \u201cdisciplinary record at adult prison was not relevant to whether he\u2019s amenable to juvenile treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another prosecution witness, Eugenia Roberts, the principal at the Coatesville Alternative Education Program, said Waltson enrolled there in September 2012 but did not last long. Roberts said after Waltson refused a teacher\u2019s multiple directives to turn his computer on, the teen threw a container of Muscle Milk on it that splattered on tables and walls.<\/p>\n

Roberts said Waltson was suspended for a day but ended up leaving the same month when his grandmother moved to Florida. Roberts said Waltson apparently missed his friends, returned to the area, and re-enrolled at the school in March, enrollment that was again short-lived.<\/p>\n

Waltson walked by a kid on the bus and threw a book at him, Roberts testified. She said the victim did not want to press charges, but Waltson was prohibited from returning to school without contact from his father, who had been given her cell phone number, she said. She said Waltson, who knew he would not be permitted in the building, showed up anyway and was driven home by a faculty member.<\/p>\n

In one of the hearing\u2019s testier exchanges, Bush asked Roberts whether anyone had checked to see whether Waltson was delivered to an empty residence. She explained that he was not enrolled at the school at that point, prompting Bush to suggest that if Waltson hadn\u2019t been dropped off, perhaps the crimes would not have occurred later that month. \u201cYou can\u2019t blame that on the school,\u201d Roberts replied.<\/p>\n

Chester County Detective James F. Ciliberto testified that he interviewed Waltson the day of his arrest and that the teen maintained \u201ca very belligerent attitude,\u201d cursing and repeating: \u201cI\u2019m a juvenile; you can\u2019t arrest me.\u201d Ciliberto strongly disputed Bush’s contention that most defendants respond in a similar fashion.<\/p>\n

Stephanie Ackley, a corrections counselor at SCI Pine Grove, testified that her facility runs a young adult offender program, which offers an alternative disposition for youth charged in the adult system. Under questioning by Bortner, she said most of the participants have averaged three placements as juveniles. \u201cHow can I find in the commonwealth\u2019s favor, given her testimony?\u201d the judge asked.<\/p>\n

Burack responded that Waltson \u201cgraduated very fast\u201d from minor offenses to a felony robbery with a gun. Burack said one of the most troubling limitations of the juvenile system is that it guarantees release at age 21. That time period is insufficient \u00a0to treat someone with Waltson’s background, putting the public at risk, he said.\u00a0 \u201cHe wasn\u2019t acting like a child that day,\u201d Burack concluded. \u201cHe should be held accountable for acting like an adult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bush countered that the risk to the public would be greater if Waltson interacted with hardened criminals, citing research that shows a higher recidivism rate for youth imprisoned in the adult system. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to create career criminals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite infractions at schools, prison, defense urges juvenile placement\u00a0 By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times The attorney for a 17-year-old charged as an adult for his role in an armed home invasion in Birmingham Township this past spring argued on Friday that his client belongs in the juvenile system, a position vehemently opposed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":17901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[3127,4089,1248,3129,4087,4085,4079,4086,4088],"class_list":["post-17899","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-alexander-w-granger","tag-assistant-district-attorney-brian-d-burack","tag-birmingham-township","tag-chester-county-detective-james-f-ciliberto","tag-chester-county-judge-david-f-bortner","tag-coatesville-alternative-education-program","tag-daniel-k-waltson","tag-psychologist-bruce-mapes","tag-robert-j-bush"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}