Sheriff calls for action from parents with teen crime on rise

Call for clergy and nonprofits to create programs to keep teens out of trouble

ORLANDO, Fla. – Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings held a news conference on Friday to address "the recent spate of juvenile crime."

Demings referenced a 14-year-old and two 15-year-olds who are under arrest after police say they carjacked someone in south Orange County on Thursday night.

"These are young teenagers -- 14- and 15-year-olds," Demings said. "They're out in the early-morning hours after midnight. In my humble opinion, a child that age who is unsupervised should not be out alone."

The three teens -- Jahwaun Rivera, Tracy Mays and Kevin Lenier -- approached the victim, Hailey Puello, 36, in the parking lot of the Esplanade Condos, police said.

The teens were armed with a gun and demanded Puello's car, Puello told police.

The teens then allegedly drove away in Puello's car and were spotted at the Lyme Bay Coloney Condos.

Authorities attempted to apprehend the trio, but one of the teens ran and was able to get into one of the apartments.

He was caught hiding on the back porch.

One of the teens suffered a dog bite to his back.

Demings added that one of the teens confessed to taking part in four other carjackings recently.

Friday's arrest follows that of another teen who was taken into custody for carjacking a woman in Apopka.

Investigators said Deon Sykes, 14, pepper-sprayed a woman, beat her and drove off with her dogs still in the car.

Demings said he fears the violence could get worse.

He said 12 teenagers have been shot so far this year in Orange County.  Three of them have died.

Demings demanded that parents take action to control their children, but he stopped short of proposing a countywide curfew.

"What I do not want to do is punish the actions of all of our children -- who do for the most part what they're supposed to be doing -- where they are punished for the actions of a few," he said.

Demings is also calling on members of the clergy and local nonprofit organizations to create activities for teens in  the hope of keeping them out of trouble.


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