Juvenile suspected in assault also suspected in Thursday armed robbery

An 11-year-old boy who is a suspect in an alleged armed robbery Thursday at a Cape Girardeau carwash is one of several juveniles suspected of assaulting a lesbian woman last month, according to authorities.

The 11-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy were taken into custody Thursday after police said a handgun was pulled during an argument with two other juveniles. Both suspects were under supervision agreements with the juvenile court, said Randy Rhodes, chief juvenile officer for Missouri's 32nd Judicial Circuit Court. The 11-year-old had pleaded guilty to charges in an assault against his neighbor Jeana Terry, 41, and had been released on probation, Rhodes said.

"Along with these new charges, their probations are under consideration to be revoked and their options are narrowing," Rhodes said.

Terry said she was notified by police Thursday that the boy who assaulted her was back in juvenile custody. Rhodes confirmed this as well.

Terry believes her beating was a hate crime due to her sexual orientation.

Police came to the child's home Thursday afternoon searching for him following the robbery and asked Terry if she had seen him. This sent her into a panic attack, she said.

"The judge had told me we were safe and we wouldn't have to worry, but then they couldn't find this boy who had someone at gunpoint. Wasn't it bad enough what he'd done to me to keep him off the streets?" she said.

According to Cape Girardeau Police spokesman Darin Hickey, one of the suspects in Thursday's robbery pulled a handgun and stole a cellphone from two other juveniles. The two juvenile suspects then fled the scene. They were taken into custody at a residence near the corner of William Street and South West End Boulevard.

Authorities notified Terry that the 11-year-old juvenile was referred to the juvenile authorities.

"They let me know he was off the streets and I shouldn't have to worry anymore about him," Terry said.

Rhodes said both juvenile suspects in Thursday's robbery are being detained in the Mississippi County Regional Juvenile Detention Center on preliminary charges of first-degree robbery, a class A felony.

Rhodes said it's possible the boys could be transferred to adult court or committed to the Division of Youth Services. They will also face juvenile probation violation charges. A detention hearing is scheduled for the boys this week, Rhodes said.

In Terry's assault, two of the three juveniles involved have already been through the juvenile court system and a third will face Judge Scott Lipke on Tuesday.

Rhodes said this has been an interesting summer for juvenile authorities.

"This has been a summer of lots of burglaries and lots of guns," he said. "The kids have been involved in lots of serious crimes. Lots of burglaries that involved weapons and a lot of those weapons are still missing. Not only in Cape, but in Jackson, too. It's been pretty rough."

Hickey said he did not know if the handgun used in Thursday's robbery had been recovered.

The investigation is ongoing, Rhodes and Hickey said.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

S. West End Blvd, Cape Girardeau, MO