DJJ Employee Accused of Stealing Gas

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A lieutenant at the Savannah Regional Youth Detention Center was caught using a state fuel card to buy gas for his own car, and he told the GBI he got away with it 40 times.  The Department of Juvenile Justice fired him last March.  The incident is revealed in a new report from the state Inspector General, obtained by Atlantaunfiltered.com.The report documents how the worker used employee identification numbers belonging to other people.  The IG says DJJ was slow to review fuel transactions and look for abuses. State procurement rules have changed since March.

Southern States Lead the Way in Reducing National Dropout Rate

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More freshmen teens in Georgia and other southern states are going on to graduate, which has helped improve the national dropout average. The number of “dropout factories” – high schools where less than 60 percent of freshman actually graduate – went down from 2,007 to 1,746 between 2002 and 2008, according to a Johns Hopkins report out today called Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic. Here’s the picture in Georgia. In 2002, 156 high schools were considered dropout factories. Things improved in 2008 with the number dropping to 120 schools.

New Focus on A Teen Murder Case that Changed Georgia Law

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Jonathan Miller was 15-years-old when he hit 13-year-old Josh Belluardo on the back of the head and that action ended up changing Georgia law. Belluardo died from the blow and Miller was sentenced to life in prison. Miller’s case got national attention because the incident occurred just weeks after the Columbine shootings in 1999. The Atlanta Journal Constitution profiles his case with some remarkable statements from Miller who says he didn’t mean to kill anybody and he shouldn’t have been tried as an adult. He’s now 27-years-old and up for parole in two years. Shortly before Miller’s trial, the state passed stricter laws on teens committing violent crimes, saying teenagers charged with murder should be tried as adults.

Teen Killer for Mexican Drug Cartel Symbolizes a Generation Lost to Gangs

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The 14-year old boy accused of working as a hit man for a Mexican drug cartel has become the poster child for a generation of kids recruited by gangs around the world.  Edgar Jimenez Lugo, also known as “El Ponchis,” has allegedly confessed to participating in four murders involving torture and decapitation.   He told investigators that he was drugged and his life was threatened while he worked for the South Pacific Cartel, a criminal organization linked to 200 murders.  Time Magazine examines the worldwide impact of this story which has made headlines from Atlanta to Australia. The teenager is actually an American citizen, born in San Diego, arrested in Cuernavaca.  In the U.S. he might be tried as an adult, but under Mexican law he’s a juvenile and will likely get just three years in prison if convicted. People who work with children are disgusted by the case but not surprised. Sister Margaret Slowick, a member of the Sisters of St.

Neighborhood Summit Cries Out for Change: Community Gets Blunt About Teen Crime & School Problems

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Low graduation rates and a teen crime spree in Atlanta brought more than 100 community leaders and concerned citizens together for the Strengthening Families and Communities Summit Thursday. “We need to give love and support to these kids and educate them that anything is possible,” said Evelyn Wynn-Dixon, Mayor of Riverdale, Ga. She was part of a town hall meeting and her words became a theme for the day. Pamela Perkins, ICM Coordinator of the Interfaith Children’s Movement, led the School Dropout Prevention workshop, where she and other attendees got candid about the problems.

“This has to start with community support,” Perkins said. “We have got to come together and make a cohesive effort to help these children succeed in school and graduate.”

The Georgia Department of Education reports the state graduation rate at 75.4 percent.

Atlanta Councilwoman Hit By Crime Has New Ideas About Teen Offenders

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Now that she's a crime victim, Atlanta City Councilmember Cleta Winslow has a lot to say about the four teenage boys arrested for breaking into her home  while she was at a crime prevention meeting Saturday. "What's happened is that the pendulum has swung in the wrong direction," Winslow said. "One of the teen's parents said their child was at home all night. But, he wasn't. Some of the problems start at home."

Facebook Bullies Arrested After Victim Hunts Them Down

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When Ally Pfeiffer saw a Facebook page under her own name that made hateful and harassing comments about her weight and appearance, she cried.  But not for long.  The 18-year old college student decided to find out who was impersonating her online and who set up the phony Facebook account using a cow in place of her picture. Ally tells WFSB-TV how she tracked the IP address and discovered two of her high school friends were behind the brutal prank.  She turned the information over to police in Bristol, CT.  They arrested two University of Connecticut students, Jeffrey Martone and Sarah Johnson who now face criminal charges. The Bristol Press reports on the simple steps Ally took to solve the crime. The suspects used a fake Gmail account created in her name.  She clicked on “Forgot Password,” guessed the answer to the security questions, opened the email and Facebook accounts, and changed the passwords.   Then she used a free IP address tracker. Ally talked about her ordeal on the Today Show.

Teen Charged as Adult in Beating of 94-Year Old Man

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A teenager could face 20 years in prison if convicted of beating and robbing a 94 year old Marietta man.  The Marietta Daily Journal reports 15 year old James Glover will be tried as an adult. An 11-year old boy has already admitted his role in the crime, and testified against Glover at a hearing on Monday before Judge Juanita Stedman.  The 11-year old was sentenced to two year of state supervision, but according to the newspaper, he’s been released from detention. Prosecutors say the boys tricked 94-year old Paul Smallwood into letting them inside his home, then knocked him down and hit him on the head with a rock.

Aging Out of Foster Care: Georgia Challenge, National Problem

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The future is uncertain for 700 Georgia teens in foster care who will turn 18 in the next year. They have a big decision to make - whether to go out on their own, or remain with a foster family. CNN’s Soledad O’Brien profiles an Atlanta teen and the choice he faces. We hear from DHS Commissioner B.J. Walker, and Cathy Colbenson, CEO of CHRIS Kids, who warns that a quarter of the young people who age out become homeless within two years. This is not just a Georgia problem. There are 400,000 children in foster care across the nation.

Hundreds of Young People March on Washington

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Hundreds of young people from Virginia and several other states are rallying in Washington, D.C. today to urge President Obama and Congress to pass legislation that protects children in the juvenile justice system. “Children as young as 14 can be tried as adults in Virginia courts, which is counterproductive,” Liane Rozzell, executive director of Families & Allies of Virginia’s Youth, told the Public News Service. The Justice Policy Institute says the majority of kids in juvenile detention are being held for nonviolent offenses and could be managed safely in the community. The protesters are advocating laws that rely less on putting young people behind bars and more on local and community-based programs.

The Community Justice Network for Youth is also hosting a national conference in D.C. today, according to the Center for Media Justice. Today’s events will launch the Network’s “Week of Action,” to push for reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA).