FRESNO, Calif. – Police apparently came prepared for gang warfare when they sent three squad cars and a helicopter in response to a 911 call. Instead, they found an 11-year-old girl who had thrown a rock to defend herself as neighborhood boys pelted her with water balloons.
Little Maribel Cuevas says she didn’t mean to hurt the boy – who admitted to officers that he started the fight and was quickly released from the hospital after getting his head stitched up.
But police insist she’s a criminal – she’s being prosecuted on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. “We responded. We determined a felony assault had taken place and the officers took the actions that were necessary,” said Fresno Police Sgt. Anthony Martinez.
FRESNO, Calif. – Police apparently came prepared for gang warfare when they sent three squad cars and a helicopter in response to a 911 call. Instead, they found an 11-year-old girl who had thrown a rock to defend herself as neighborhood boys pelted her with water balloons.
Little Maribel Cuevas says she didn’t mean to hurt the boy – who admitted to officers that he started the fight and was quickly released from the hospital after getting his head stitched up.
But police insist she’s a criminal – she’s being prosecuted on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. “We responded. We determined a felony assault had taken place and the officers took the actions that were necessary,” said Fresno Police Sgt. Anthony Martinez.
FRESNO, Calif. – Police apparently came prepared for gang warfare when they sent three squad cars and a helicopter in response to a 911 call. Instead, they found an 11-year-old girl who had thrown a rock to defend herself as neighborhood boys pelted her with water balloons.
Little Maribel Cuevas says she didn’t mean to hurt the boy – who admitted to officers that he started the fight and was quickly released from the hospital after getting his head stitched up.
But police insist she’s a criminal – she’s being prosecuted on a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon. “We responded. We determined a felony assault had taken place and the officers took the actions that were necessary,” said Fresno Police Sgt. Anthony Martinez.
Her family says Maribel was simply defending herself when 9-year-old Elijah Vang and several other boys pummeled her with water balloons outside her home in a poor Fresno neighborhood in April. They say she quickly sought help and tried to apologize to the boy and his family. The Vangs have since moved away.
“She’s 11 … they’re treating her like she’s a violent parole offender,” said Richard Beshwate, Jr., Maribel’s lawyer.
Maribel, who speaks limited English, spent five days in juvenile hall with just one half-hour visit from her parents. She then spent about 30 days under house arrest, forced to wear a GPS ankle bracelet to monitor her whereabouts. She’s due in court Aug. 3. . . .
[T]his is a case where the police department “overreacted and won’t back down,” Beshwate said. “I don’t know if they don’t like Spanish speakers, if it’s racism, or if they were having a bad day. But how can you defend this kind of behavior?”
Unbelievable. Details here from the AP via the San Jose Mercury News.
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