Former top prosecutor explains what happens when juvenile suspects are charged as adults

Just this month, Channel 13 reported on two shootings across our valley involving juvenile suspects.

The first was at the First Friday gathering in the Arts District. Prosecutors say 17-year-old Issac Manriquez is charged with open murder and two counts of attempted murder after they believe he allegedly shot and killed 15-year-old Carth Onasi Jacobs-Rodgers at the event.

City leaders have since paused the event.

The second was the Sunday night shooting at the RTC Bonneville Transit Center that left three people, including 17-year-old suspect Amari Heath, injured. The Clark County District Attorneys Office confirmed hes facing several charges including attempted murder.

Senior Reporter Mary Kielar went to former longtime Clark County District Attorney David Roger for insight on what happens when young perpetrators get charged as adults.

He explained that once the determination is made that a juvenile will be charged as an adult, theyre moved from the juvenile detention facility to the regular jail.

They have a segregated population that includes just juveniles, and so, theyre not just mixing with adult pretrial detainees, Roger explained.

He added that an attempted murder charge for a juvenile suspect carries the possibility of a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

Channel 13 also asked about the trend of seeing juvenile suspects involved in alleged crimes here in our valley.

Over the years, we have consistently seen a segment of our juvenile population that is violent, committing crimes with guns, committing murder, attempted murder, drive-by shootings, sexual assaults. Those are all crimes of violence, and it has been consistent throughout the years, he said. Its just that the viewers dont hear about those cases because a lot of them are down in juvenile court or theyre not high-profile cases.