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Contributed commentary by retired Judge Wayne Shelton on gunshots being fired during a football game Friday night.
Of the two juveniles apprehended for this offense, the juvenile court staff worked until 6:30 the next morning to find a secure detention bed for them.
Now the shameful news. Montgomery County has no detention facilities, and we must rely on counties that are more responsible to secure our dangerous offenders.
The juvenile staff could find one – only one – out-of-county detention bed. The second juvenile charged with shooting into the crowd of innocent citizens of our county, that child was sent home to his family. Now that family has already demonstrated that they have no control of him.
Please, each of you should be irate that we as a county of approximately a quarter million people cannot secure an accused person who would endanger 900-plus of our people, and we cannot detain him. That is a total disgrace. We are building a hockey rink for all of the county’s hockey players, but we can only send apparent dangerous juveniles home to their mommies.
Please, please ask your county commissioners, is this right? Ask them if this is the best that we can do.
I am no longer a judge, but as a citizen, I’m mad as hell!
Wayne C. Shelton