Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty is speaking out about two robbery sprees involving multiple juveniles after questions have been raised about whether those arrested were being charged.
Over the course of the two weekend robbery sprees in February, the Minneapolis Police referred 12 cases to the county attorney's office. Those cases involved 12 different juveniles in connection mainly to car thefts.
However, Moriarty says charging these youth goes beyond just catching them in a stolen vehicle.
"Simply because a youth may be found in a stolen car does not mean that we can prove that they stole the car," Moriarty says. "It also doesn't mean that they were in the car at the time it was used to commit a robbery."
Moriarty did say that nine of the teens are facing charges, and acknowledged the crime issues in the city.
"This was an important public safety issue" she said Friday. "And so our supervisors were willing to put in that work to help the Minneapolis Police Department try to apprehend the people who were responsible for these crimes."
She says her office is still working hard to hold all those involved accountable.
This past week Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told WCCO Radio's Adam Carter that the shocking ages of the suspects can be a problem for both police and prosecutors.
"Beyond making arrests, getting these kids charged is particularly difficult, and it gets even more and more difficult the more serious these crimes get and the higher volume of crimes involved," O'Hara explains.
The youngest suspect charged is just 14-years old. O'Hara said that he believes one of the arrested juveniles is only 12-years old.
He says arrests are one thing, but the problematic corrections system as a whole, not just county attorneys, prevents them from holding kids and actually getting them charged with crimes.