Judge rules against teens in controversial case
By Charlene Muhammad
Staff Writer
Updated Jul 14, 2008
PALMDALE, Calif. (FinalCall.com) - A juvenile court judge on June 23 “found it to be true” that two Black teenagers committed misdemeanor battery on a public officer and one made criminal threats in a case that gained widespread attention after a security guard at William Pete Knight High School broke one girl’s wrist last September.
Juvenile court Judge Christopher Estes sentenced Pleajhai Mervin, Kenngela Lockett and her brother Joshua to at-home probation and community service, but spared them any jail time. Ms. Mervin, then 15, and Ms. Lockett were charged with the misdemeanors while Joshua Lockett was charged with felony counts of threatening a public officer and making criminal threats. He also faced misdemeanor charges for disturbing the peace.
The youths must perform 80 hours of community service and undergo anger management classes, but according to Atty. Carl Douglas, their lawyer, they could be entangled in the legal system until they are 23-years-old. He doubts that will happen because the teens “are good children,” he told The Final Call.
The children maintained their innocence throughout preliminary investigations and the trial, and rejected a plea bargain. “We took a chance on justice. If these children had had a jury, there was no way they would have been found guilty,” said Latricia Majors, Ms. Mervin’s mother. Although her daughter is doing better, the girl is still upset that she has to do community service and was put on probation for something she did not do, said the mother.
“I’m still glad that we did go through the trial, because I taught her to stand up for something she believes in. We did the right thing by doing that,” Ms. Majors added.
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