"Everyone in this room is trying to help you"

Saturday 19 August 2017

A teenage boy who was facing three different charges in youth court earlier this week was told by one of the panel members that everyone in the court was trying to help him as he became argumentative with the chairperson.

The 15-year-old was facing a charge of disorderly conduct, one of obstructing a police officer and one of possession of cannabis.

While on his way back from a club in town on 13 March, the teenager along with a group of friends started yelling abuse at another teenage boy who was walking with his two brothers in the area of Millennium Park. They then started running towards him and the defendant pushed him in the back with his hand, causing him to fall over. He then tried to punch him and kicked him whilst he was on the ground according to CCTV footage of the incident. The victim managed to run home and lock himself in before his mum called the police. 

On 14 July, the teenager was waiting for a bus at Liberation Station and someone alerted a policeman that he was acting suspiciously. When the police officer tried to search him, the teenager attempted to run away but the officer grabbed hold of him and brought him to the floor. Whilst he was on the floor the teenager tried to grab hold of something in his back pocket which was later identified as cannabis resin.

His advocate Lauren Glynn told the court that, by way of mitigation, that whilst there had been improvements in his behaviour and relationships, he was still experiencing difficulties. She urged the Youth Court to give him the opportunity to carry out community service rather than probation, which the teenager described as boring.

As the court chairperson, Sarah Fitz, asked the teenage boy if he would follow a community service order, he got agitated saying he had been repeating the same thing over and over again. "I ain’t a bad person. People think I am but they only got the wrong side of me," he continued, ignoring the calls from Ms Fitz to stay calm. Panel member Fiona Phipps then told him, "You seem angry because you feel you have been unjustly treated, but your attitude is so bad that it doesn't give people the opportunity to think otherwise."

As he was still unsettled, Paul Battrick, another panel member told him: "Advocate Glynn and her assistant they were trying to help you this morning, you gave them a hard time. You are giving us a hard time now. You are giving everybody in this room a hard time when we are all trying to help you. Nobody said you are a bad person. You made the wrong decisions. Everyone in this room is trying to help you."

The Youth Court decided to defer the sentence until 26 September so that a full psychological report can be completed.