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Girl, 13, Kept in Jail For 2 Weeks

By MATT CURRY
,
AP
posted: 8 HOURS AGO
comments: 496
filed under: Crime News
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DALLAS (Aug. 7) -- A 13-year-old girl arrested for shoplifting was held in the Dallas County Jail for nearly two weeks before it was determined that she is underage, a police sergeant said Thursday.
An internal affairs investigation has been launched to review the matter, police Sgt. Warren Mitchell told The Associated Press on Thursday night.
The girl, who had run away from home, was arrested July 10 at a Target department store for shoplifting. She held no identification and gave a false name and age, Mitchell said.
The sergeant said the arresting officer attempted to contact the police youth division to confirm the information but found no record of her. The arresting officer assumed she was 17 and took her to jail, Mitchell said, but did not say how he made that assumption.
The girl was released from custody July 23 after appearing before a judge and is again listed as a runaway. Meanwhile, an inmate, an acquaintance of the girl's family who had recognized her, phoned her father, who came to police with a birth certificate and other records verifying her real identity and age.
Mitchell declined to discuss the case further, pending the investigation.
He said investigators want to find out whether the officer who made the arrest followed policy, and what could be done to prevent the situation from happening again.
The officer who made the arrest, Sr. Cpl. Roberto Garcia, told The Dallas Morning News that the information that the girl provided him would have made her an adult.
"It's just the frustrating battle that we have out there in the real world," Garcia told the newspaper. "I just have a heck of the time when these juveniles won't tell you who they are and they have no ID."
Assistant Chief Ron Waldrop, who heads the department's investigations bureau, told the paper that the girl initially identified herself as being 14, which he said should have raised concerns.
"Everybody believes that should have required an intense level of checking before incarceration," he said.
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2009-08-07 00:00:08
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STEVENFAITH

07:40 PMAug 07 2009

dumbass is headed for a wonderful life. stupid kid did jail time because she's an ******* and now she is a runaway again. go figure.

AVG RATING:
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RAYFRIDJR

07:38 PMAug 07 2009

Despite her age, this girl's civil rights were violated since she didn't see a judge before being jailed. Any adult criminal suspect when taken into custody is given a bail hearing. She also should have asked for an attorney to represent her before the judge, both of which she should have been informed of these rights.

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Rssllchrstph

07:38 PMAug 07 2009

She did what she wanted, lied about her age so they could not identify her. She did a good job at any time if she did not want to be there she could have confessed she lied and they would have looked into it. Teens lie about thier ages all the time to buy booze, cigarettes, get into bars, and strip clubs. It's part of being a teen and wanting the freedoms of an adult. Criminals often don't want to be identified and she played it well.

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Geoharkar

07:38 PMAug 07 2009

All women should stay home and cook clean and do laundry then this will not happen

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Liutenant Salt

07:38 PMAug 07 2009

Just more proof that Texas cops are some of the most inept morons out there.

AVG RATING:
(1)

RTB69

07:31 PMAug 07 2009

well if she had given her real identity in the first place this wouldn't have happened.I think there should be a database created for all children when they enter grade school, finger prints, DNA, photos..ect.. it would make it so much easier to identify them if something happens.

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(3)

Gailgrier07

07:30 PMAug 07 2009

TO: CharityFortuneWhat are you going on about?Your rant is so incoherent, so dis-jointed, so punctually inferior, it is hard to tell what exactly you want to say.I can tell you are angry but because your (written) thoughts are so predjudiced you are not able to convince anyone that what you are saying is truthful.

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(1)

DavePawson

07:28 PMAug 07 2009

Just try telling a judge you didn't know she was 13, she said she was 18. It has never worked before, it won't work here.

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(1)

Wideload777

07:27 PMAug 07 2009

EXCUSE ME....DID I MISS SOMETHING HERE? DIDN'T THE REPORT SAY THAT SHE WAS RELEASED AND IS ONCE AGAIN LISTED AS A RUNAWAY?

AVG RATING:
(1)

BlueTickLAM

07:27 PMAug 07 2009

Damn shame ,in a good home, you cant smack a childs azz when they are young & misbehave. I have a little nephew thats dennis the menace. His parents dont correct him when he really needs it. Me I would bust his azz, lol Afterwards I'd feel bad about it,lol. Thats how I was taught. Misbehavingin public especially is rampant these days. It reflects entirely on mommy & daddy. I learned from my mistakes.

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A 13-year-old girl arrested for shoplifting was held in the Dallas County Jail for nearly two weeks before it was determined that she is underage, a police sergeant said Thursday.