Teenagers sentenced to probation for adult crimes in Pima County are more than twice as likely than older offenders to get into trouble again and wind up in prison.
Forty-seven percent of juveniles transferred into the adult system between 2008 and 2010 have had their probations revoked or are going through the revocation process, compared with 22 percent of adults who commit similar crimes, a Star analysis found.
Combined with those sentenced directly to prison, 68 percent of underage offenders eventually end up behind bars.
Children's advocates and prosecutors both contend those numbers validate their conflicting positions on treating certain children as adults.
Teenagers can't be expected to act like adults when human brains aren't fully developed, advocates say. They contend teens are unsafe in adult jails and prisons, don't get the services they need and thus are more likely to re-offend.
Prosecutors point out that those moved to the adult system have had multiple opportunities in the juvenile system, and are often unwilling or unable to conform their behavior.
Walter Dominguez, who grew up in a gang-infested neighborhood and alcoholic home, certainly was given several chances. He was first arrested at age 9 and got his first tattoo at 11.
But after one of his brothers was killed in a police chase when Dominguez was 14, and another brother died in a crash three months later, Dominguez said he decided to "live it up" even more. Soon the freshman dropout was making $5,000 in two hours selling marijuana and methamphetamine, and gaining fame in his neighborhood.
By the time he got caught with 45 pounds of marijuana near the border two years later, he had seven years' experience with the juvenile criminal justice system and had drug, weapons and assault convictions on his record.
So far, he hasn't been sent to prison. Since being charged as an adult and sentenced to three years of intensive probation, he has returned to charter school and dreams of becoming an architect and having a family.
Unlike some states, where privacy rights prohibit probation officers from notifying schools about a student's troubled - and potentially violent - history, Arizona requires such notifications. But probation unit supervisor Annabea McKinley, said the information may not always reach classroom teachers.
Thousands in adult system
A recent U.S. Department of Justice report said nearly 250,000 youth under 18 end up in the adult criminal justice system every year. On any given day, 3,000 of them are in adult prisons and another 7,000 are in adult jails.
And a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention task force study found youths transferred to adult court are about 34 percent more likely to be rearrested than those who stay in the juvenile system.
The Arizona Daily Star recently examined 337 criminal cases filed against 254 juveniles charged in Pima County Superior Court - many had multiple cases.
• 104 were sentenced straight to prison.
• 104 were sentenced to standard probation.
• 76 were sentenced to intensive probation.
• Of the 180 sentenced to probation, 73 failed and were sent to prison. Probation officers are trying to send another 11 to prison.
• In all, 173 of the young offenders, 68 percent, ultimately ended up in prison.
In the late 1990s, Arizona legislators decided that 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds should automatically be transferred into the adult system if they commit certain violent crimes or are chronic offenders. In some cases, prosecutors can transfer teens into the adult system at their discretion.
Pima County Public Defender Bob Hirsh and Assistant Public Defender Michael Mussman said they believe judges should be able to make decisions about transfers based on the child's criminal background, family life, substance abuse issues, education, mental health and gang involvement.
"Prison is not a college to go to," Hirsh said. "You learn the worst lessons there. It's a mean, vile place. When you're in the milieu of meanness, how else are you going to come out? There are no good values being taught in prison."
Judge Karen Adam, who presides over Pima County Superior Court's juvenile court, said there will always be a small group of teens who should be in the adult system because they are sociopaths with a violent criminal history.
However, she said many nonviolent teen offenders would benefit from staying in the juvenile system, where workers are specially trained, have experience working with youth and can even develop their own programs if the community is lacking in any areas.
Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall points out that most teens transferred into the adult system have already been in the criminal justice system numerous times. Most have received services through diversion programs, standard probation, intensive probation and the juvenile prison system, but continue to get in trouble.
"The question becomes, how many chances do you give before you hold someone accountable?" LaWall asked.
Kellie Johnson, chief criminal deputy county attorney, said defense attorneys can ask a judge to do a "reverse transfer" to get a teenager back into the juvenile system.
While LaWall is skeptical about juveniles who have already graduated to adult crimes, she believes most youthful offenders are salvageable if services are provided early on.
Arizona needs to spend more money on education, health care and family programs, she said.
Tailored focus
Pima County tries to tailor its probation practices for younger offenders.
For example, Pima County adult probation uses the same youth-oriented service providers for its teens as juvenile probation, McKinley, said.
In addition, teens incarcerated at the Pima County Adult Detention Center attend school and can receive special education if necessary, said Capt. Greg Gearhart.
A Bureau of Justice Statistics study found 40 percent of jails provided no educational services at all, and only 11 percent provided special ed, even though 30 percent of younger inmates reported having a learning disability.
Pima County's teens are also kept segregated, Gearhart said.
After Dominguez pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana for sale, he was placed on three years' intensive probation, where defendants are expected to account for every minute of every day to their probation officer and abide by a curfew.
McKinley said teens on intensive probation are expected to go to school, look for a job or work and attend counseling sessions on anger management, substance-abuse issues, social skills and domestic-violence issues.
At 16, Dominguez never expected to find himself in the adult system. Jail and possible prison time was scary for him, unlike the juvenile detention center.
"That's a little child-care place," Dominguez said.
He received plenty of services, but hardly any consequences in the juvenile system, he said.
In his case, being given a second chance gave him a new perspective.
Every Sunday, he spends time with the brothers he lost - at the cemetery - catching them up on what he's been doing and renewing his promise to turn his life around.
"It's my quiet time," Dominguez, now 18, said. "I sit down at their grave and be real quiet in my mind. I pause everything."
Even though his brothers, their mother and grandmother tried to push him in the right direction - to not become a gangster, to stop using drugs, to go to school - he didn't listen. But now, many of his old friends are either dead or in prison.
"Being out here, I smile at the birds. I smile at the trees and nature." His old friends, he said, "They don't smile at nothing. No nature. No nothing. There is no happiness."
YOUTH CRIME STATS
254
Pima County youths transferred into adult system in 2008-2010
70%
had substance abuse issues
54%
had juvenile criminal histories
31%
involved with gangs
22%
diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
20%
raised by single parent or relative
19%
special education students
17%
had at least one parent with criminal history
16%
had dropped out of school
Crimes youths charged with:
46%
aggravated assault
33%
burglary
32%
armed robbery
26%
aggravated robbery
18%
stolen vehicles
Source: Pima County Adult Probation, Arizona Daily Star Research
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com