Prosecuting youth as adults

It’s too bad Wagstaffe isn’t charging all 14 as adults. As the old adage says, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” Examples need to be set, else criminal enterprises and cartels will continue to exploit juveniles to do their bidding, knowing that folks continue to buy into the idea that juveniles shouldn’t be held fully responsible for their behavior. Let’s practice equity and equality in prosecutions.

Ms. Rossi - our DA probably knows more about these youthful criminals than you give him credit for. One of those T-boned a car at high speed killing the parents of two little ones. If he is tried in a juvenile court he will get a slap on the wrist and his parents will just buy him another Mercedes. I have worked with a few of these youths and they are, even at their young age, hardened criminals and expect that they will get away with it. Clearly, all needs to be handled on a case by case basis, but to base prosecution on age alone is dangerous and fool hardy.

Im not familiar with the other 2 cases - but one of those Latino youths ( Cesar Morales) is now 18 years old and was responsible for killing a mother and father and leaving their two young children as orphans while street racing on El Camino. If tried as a juvenile he would top out at 7 years and be released at age 25. This punishment is not sufficient for the crime committed - 2nd degree murder. He wasn't some wayward 14 year old that had no guidance and made a terrible mistake because he wasnt ever shown right and wrong. He was 17 years old at the time of the offense - and already had a pattern of behavior of getting in trouble with his tricked out Mercedes that his parents bought him. He's not going to learn anything by getting released at age 25. He killed 2 people and disrupted countless lives - showing a blatant disregard for human life with the crime he committed. I agree with Dirk - every juvenile case should be looked at individually with only the facts of that case being considered regarding punishment. But in the case of Cesar Morales - him being a couple months shy of his 18th birthday should not preclude him facing the fair sentence he deserves.

The boy the killed two parents owes debt to society as a warning to other teenagers that would disregard of the lives of others.

Absolutely the right decision by Wagstaff in this horrific case. The 17 year old juvenile - who is now an 18 year old adult – raced down El Camino Real, at three times the posted speed limit, crashing and killing the parents of two young children. Your LTE neglects, ignores and sidesteps the true victims in this tragedy. The 8 year-old twin girls, Madison and Olivia - who lost their mother and their father. Can anyone of us comprehend what Madison and Olivia experienced? Can any of us imagine what those two young children saw? The carnage. The blood. The gore. Their parents lifeless broken bodies. What they heard? The crushing impact. The screams. The moaning. The crying. They deserve justice and accountability. Hopefully, that will be in adult court. The only thing the juvenile, now an adult, is entitled to is a fair trial, To add insult to injury, you throw down the race card! Insulting our DA, the family and the community by suggesting Wagstaff’s decision to try juveniles in adult court has a race-based component! Shame on you!

The author misses mentioning the severity of the case to present their argument (with no data). It is absolutely the right decision by our DA. "Weak-on-crime" policies are playing out great in SF and Oakland - please do not support bringing these to San Mateo County.