By Guy Page
A 14-year-old Essex boy was cited and released Sunday, July 10 after Essex police say that on Friday, July 8 he threatened adults on a bike path with a baseball bat, demanding their cellphones and passcodes. He struck a woman with the bat after she didn’t immediately comply.
In a July 10 press release, Essex police didn’t say why the youth was using a deadly weapon to steal cellphones. But they did provide details of the thefts, arrest, and citation.
On Friday July 8, at 6:51 pm the Essex Police responded to the area of Old Colchester Road near the Tree Farm along the bicycle path for a report from a male Essex resident (51) who advised he had been approached by a juvenile male holding a baseball bat. The juvenile threatened the male with the baseball bat and demanded he give him his cell phone and to provide him with the passcode.
The juvenile fled on foot without the male’s cell phone and police were unable to locate him at this time after conducting a search of the area.
Essex Police then received a separate call at 8:32 pm from a female Essex resident (25) who reported she had been assaulted by a juvenile male in the area of the Tree Farm on Old Colchester Road.
The woman reported she had been approached by the juvenile with a baseball bat. The juvenile demanded for her to give him her cell phone and provide the passcode. When she did not immediately hand over the phone, the juvenile struck her with the baseball bat.
The juvenile stole her phone and fled the area on foot. The woman was able to seek assistance at a nearby residence where a call was made to police. The woman later went to the UVM Medical Center Emergency Department for treatment of injuries sustained during the attack.
Both parties provided very similar descriptions of the juvenile male. From the descriptions provided, Essex Police narrowed the search and located a subject at a nearby residence who was responsible for the assault and robbery. Police recovered the stolen property and returned it to the owner.
At 9:26 pm the Essex resident and male juvenile (14) was taken into custody and transported to the Essex Police Department for processing. The juvenile was released to his guardian with court ordered conditions of release.
The juvenile was issued a flash citation to appear at Vermont Superior Court- Chittenden County Criminal Division to answer the charge of Assault and Robbery on Monday, July 11. By state law, juvenile court proceedings are sealed from the public and press.
Essex Police will be increasing patrols in the area, the Essex PD statement concluded.
Comments on the Essex PD Facebook page reflect a citizenry concerned about public safety, police response, and citation and release of a young man who had bludgeoned a woman with a baseball bat.
- “How about we turn the lights back on at Woodside [Juvenile Detention Facility]. No reason this kid should be released until his court appearance tomorrow.”
- “Just an opinion, this is a failure by our judicial system. This suspect should not have been released, and consequently the people of Essex Junction are vulnerable. At the very least he needed to be held for psychiatric evaluation.”
- “I am struggling how someone was able to threaten one person and successfully assault another community member with a weapon in nearly the same location within an hour and forty minutes after the Police were called. I am starting to think the two officers and one supervisor staffing is not enough if we can literally allow a community member to walk into that kind of situation within 2 hours of the first event.”
- “That’s actually scary. I was in that area recently and a teenage boy was in the middle of the road, smoking, and yelling at me. The way he looked at me was actually pretty scary.”
Thieves steal cellphones to (among other reasons) access the owner’s online financial accounts, blackmail the owner with personal information, and/or hold the phone as ransom. With both the cellphones and the passwords, thieves can perform unauthorized transactions before the owner can notify police, banks, and others.