Legal experts discuss bail reform after teen causes deadly crash with stolen car
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A teenage driver who caused a deadly crash in the Rochester area earlier this week was arrested 12 times last year and while on parole, was arrested for stealing a car in Erie County just a few weeks ago, according to Rochester police.
WIVB News 4 spoke with legal experts Sunday about bail reform and asked how the teen was able to be in the community following a dozen arrests.
“At a certain point, people got to be held accountable, including 17-year-olds,” said former Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.
Rochester police said the 17-year-old, who killed a 92-year-old in a crash in Brighton, a town just outside of Rochester, while driving a suspected stolen car was arrested a dozen times before Thursday for “smash-and grab” incidents, where stolen cars were used for breaking into businesses.
The 17-year-old was also on parole for burglary.
“The judges will tell you they have no choice, the legislatures will tell you the judges have a choice. I don’t know. You have to look at it on a case-by-case basis,” said Rochester Police Chief David Smith. “Sometimes it’s a mixture of both, but I can tell you clearly, it’s a failure that’s not ours.”
News 4 spoke with criminal defense lawyer Barry Covert who said the fact that the teen violated parole and was somehow back in another stolen vehicle days later is concerning.
“The New York State Parole Department could have sought a petition and a warrant immediately. That’s not the fault of the Cheektowaga police or the court,” Covert said. “That has to be done through the parole department, filing a petition and seeking a warrant through the court that had original jurisdiction over his sentencing.”
Flynn said another problem is that the 17-year-old is in the Raise the Age system, which is based on the premise that everyone should be given a second chance without incarceration, making it unusual for this individual to be on parole.
“That means that he was adjudicated as an adult, at some point, wasn’t given youthful offender status, and prior had a period of incarceration for an indeterminate amount,” Flynn said.
Both Covert and Flynn said this incident may lead to changes in the juvenile justice process.
“Have the people who are in charge now in Albany revisit Raise the Age, revisit the bail reform laws,” Flynn said. “There comes a point, though, when a 16, 17-year-old is just caught up in a life of crime to the point where they need to be held accountable.”
“Judges really don’t want to have to detain a 16 or 17-year-old, but you can’t just keep having individuals that just keep committing crimes while they’re out on bail or out on their own recognizance time after time after time,” Covert said.
Charges are pending in the case. Covert said there will most likely be an investigation into how the teen wasn’t detained after being on parole and violating it previously.
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Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
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