THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502030570
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JUNE ARNEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
Donna Carr is satisfied with the sentence imposed on a teenage neighbor who ``mooned'' and threatened to kill her 9-year-old daughter.
But the boy's mother can't understand why her 15-year-old son, found ``not innocent'' of two misdemeanors, received a suspended commitment to a juvenile correctional center, just like a Virginia Beach boy who accidentally shot and killed his best friend.
``A boy who killed his friend gets a suspended commitment and (my son) gets a suspended commitment?'' the mother asked. ``An involuntary manslaughter vs. mooning? There's a big difference there.''
Juvenile Judge Lester V. Moore Jr. imposed the suspended commitment last week, placing the boy on indeterminate probation and ordering that he continue counseling and taking medication to regulate his mental illness.
Among the other sentencing options available to the judge were probation, counseling or treatment programs, alone or in combination. The boy is not being identified because of his age.
``I'm glad for the suspended commitment,'' said Donna Carr, mother of 9-year-old Audra. ``It makes me feel like he won't be doing this to my family and other families. He's been using the excuse of his mental illness. His mental condition isn't a free ticket to reign terror over everyone anymore.''
Though the boy's mother was not pleased with the sentence, said she is glad her son is being held accountable.
``It's good he got something,'' she said. ``It does teach him you just can't go around doing things.''
But she contends that there were misrepresentations in the social history presented in court. She claims that publicity about the case played a role in her son receiving a penalty typically reserved for children who have been in trouble with the law before. Her son, she says, has no prior juvenile convictions.
``The sentence is way off base for this kind of charge,'' she said. ``Political influence should not be brought into that courtroom, especially for a mentally ill juvenile. It wouldn't look good politically for the judge or prosecutor for (my son's) sentence to be in accordance with what he did because Donna Carr would not have been happy with that.''
Court officials say suspended commitments are commonly ordered in cases where a juvenile is making a repeat appearance in court. They are unusual in a misdemeanor case in which the juvenile has either no prior court involvement or minimal court involvement. Norfolk juvenile courts and the Department of Youth and Family Services do not keep statistics on the number of suspended vs. actual commitments.
The dispute that brought the Carrs to court began on Memorial Day 1994 when the boy, 14 at the time, ``mooned'' Audra and a group of friends as they sat on her front porch. When the father of one of the children complained to the boy's mother, the boy assumed Audra had tattled and threatened to kill her.
After confusion over hearing dates, the courts finally intervened in October when Judge Moore directed the boy to undergo psychiatric evaluation and ordered the two families to stay away from one another.
In December, the boy admitted his mistakes to the judge and said he'd never do it again.
During last week's sentencing hearing, Donna Carr presented the judge with a petition signed by 172 members of the community in which Audra asked the judge ``not to allow my 15-year-old attacker to use the excuse of his mental condition as a reason to threaten to kill people because he feels that someone has wronged him.''
The document says: ``I was told that I was not the first victim of this boy when we went in to fill out our petition against him for indecent exposure and threatening to kill. . . . I wish Judge Moore could see that this boy is making up excuses and will finally punish him for his actions and make him realize that you have to get along in this world with other people.''
The boy's mother says she does not plan to appeal but will take further action. She declined to be specific.
Meanwhile, the Carrs say they just want their lives to return to normal.
``My daughter was traumatized for eight months,'' Donna Carr said. ``It's going to take her a while to get over this.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MOTOYA NAKAMURA/Staff file
Audra Carr, second from left, is surrounded by her mother, Donna;
sister, Shawnna; and father, Stanley. Donna Carr said the family is
happy the case that began on Memorial Day is over.
by CNB