Hillsborough: Boy, 7, arrested after throwing backpack

TAMPA - A deputy arrested a 7-year-old boy at school Wednesday after the boy flung a backpack at an 11-year-old's head at a bus stop, authorities said.

The Hillsborough County deputy did not put the second- grader in handcuffs, but he put the boy into the back of a sheriff's cruiser outside Lopez Elementary School in Seffner after he investigated a complaint from the 11-year-old's mother.

Prosecutors say they had advised against arresting the boy. And the county's Juvenile Assessment Center wouldn't take the 7-year-old, so he was returned to school.

The incident was part of an ongoing feud between neighborhood kids at a Seffner-area mobile home park, said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter.

The most recent episode started when the 7-year-old urinated at the bus stop, Carter said. Other children began calling the boy names, and he eventually threw a backpack at the 11-year-old's head.

The 11-year-old did not appear to be injured, Carter said. And the children boarded the bus and went to school.

Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi described the backpack that hit the 11-year-old as light, being filled with papers.

But when the 11-year-old's mother heard about the incident, she called deputies and demanded that they press charges, Carter said.

Deputy Gary Craig was sent to check out the complaint. He contacted Bob Petschow, deputy chief of intake for the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office. Petschow told the deputy that there are many problems with charging a 7-year-old and advised him against arresting the child, said Bondi, the assistant state attorney.

"The deputy did anyway," Bondi said. "We explained to the deputy the competency issues with even attempting to charge a 7-year-old."

But Carter said the deputy's account is slightly different from what the State Attorney's Office says. According to Carter, the deputy talked to the 7-year-old's mother, who consented to her son's arrest.

The deputy went to Lopez Elementary, talked with witnesses and took the 7-year-old into custody. Carter said the boy showed no emotion as he was escorted out by a uniformed officer.

When Craig reached the Juvenile Assessment Center, the holding facility for children charged with crimes, the intake workers there refused to take him because of his age.

According to Carter, it wasn't until that point that Craig called the State Attorney's Office and was told to write a report but return the child to school.

The state attorney will now decide whether to charge the child with misdemeanor battery.

Carter said the Sheriff's Office is reviewing the discrepancies between Craig's account and Bondi's.

Asked whether Craig did the right thing, Carter pointed out that the victim's mother was insisting that charges be filed.

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Comments on this article

by Patricia	09/12/07 02:29 PM
it sounds like this kid had a horrible home life to have a mom say "take him" and no one fight for him. and let everyone slander him. what if his bathroom at home was not working? parents are responsible for 7 yr olds. the mom needs investigation,

by Patricia	09/12/07 02:27 PM
Wondering why a 7 yr old could not use his own bathroom? did this home not have a working bathroom? might want CPS to investigate. The mother of 7 yr old sounds to be w/ "no emotion" herself, if it were me, i would not say "Take him", where is DAD??

by Patricia	09/12/07 02:24 PM
I think that this should have been resolved with both parents, they could have set a better example for problem resolution than this. 7 yr. do not create who they are. they are coming from a home, if the 7 old has issues, what happened to counseling?

by Mary	02/10/07 08:13 AM
Too many kids are trying to get away with anything because there is little to know punishment. Granted this was extreme to make an arrest over throwing a bookbag, but the child showed no emotion. He will comit more violent crimes in the future.

by Debbie	01/13/07 01:23 AM
If the mom said "take him", there are obviously problems in the home. The 7 year old did not make himself what he is - he is a product of his environment. Child services should get involved to find out if this child needs better overall guidence -

by Tina	01/12/07 08:34 PM
I think the Mother of the 11yr. old & the Cop should become actors and join the movie Jack-Ass since thats what they were thinking like. Y do U think r kids r killing other kids Every little conflict they have ends up involving the po BOO on ZERO TOL

by iamnada	01/12/07 08:09 PM
we are a country that has no common sense--

by Sherri	01/12/07 07:40 PM
Agree with John...problems start long before the teen years. The mother said, "Take him." What does that tell YOU? It tells me, he's already a pretty big behavior problem. None of us know what this kid has been up to prior to today. Last straw?

by K	01/12/07 03:38 PM
The saddest thing is that there is no intervention for EITHER child to prevent this from ahppening again. At risk programs must be available at this age as well to get them help BEFORE they are arrested. Both these mothers sound ridiculous.

by alfred	01/12/07 03:09 PM
for crying out loud belinda you never peed in the woods when you were 7

by Steve	01/12/07 02:17 PM
A 7 year old going after an 11 year old. Must have been pretty mad. What would the 11 year old's next move have been? Showed no emotion? That's just one persons opinion. Was he supposed to throw a fit, and that be OK? Smart enough to settle down?

by alfred	01/12/07 02:09 PM
oh my god whats this world coming to..he took a pee..im sure he didn't force himself..you know that saying..you gotta go you gotta go

by John	01/12/07 01:34 PM
I wonder if the folks who say "this was a minor thing" are the same ones who ask "where are the parents" when we hear tales of teens stealing cars or robbing people. These "non-issues" are what you address to prevent those future problems.

by MS	01/12/07 01:14 PM
What happened to dukeing it out at the bus stop. The mother of the 11 year should have been laughed at, calling the police. Settle your battles at the bus stop and get on your way. An 11 yr old afraid of a 7 yr old. Must be a bad ass kid. Gee WHIZ

by paul	01/12/07 01:01 PM
I think it would be more appropriate to say the kid was "detained" not arrested. He the kid was arreste dhe would have been booked etc... Need to use the correct terminology here. Very confusing.

by paul	01/12/07 12:31 PM
sounds like a good segment for the TV show "COPS"...trailer park kids gone wild. great use of our sheriff's resources. should make the parents responsible for any cost here.

by Cynthia	01/12/07 12:25 PM
Apparently the words "common sense" cannot be used to describe the behavior of these so-called mothers.

by Belinda	01/12/07 12:20 PM
GOOD, glad they did this to the child. Teach him a leason before its too late.

by CHRIS	01/12/07 11:55 AM
THIS IS THE MOST IDIOTIC HORRENDOUS ISSUE!! IF MY 7 YR. OLD WAS ARRESTED FOR SOMETHING SO SIMPLE, I'D BE SUEING THAT 11 YR. OLDS MOTHER & THAT DEPUTY. YOU KNOW HOW MANY LITTLE KIDS GET FRUSTRATED AND SWING A BACKPACK OR EVEN A LUNCH BOX?

by Don	01/12/07 11:49 AM
Deputy Craig should be fired and never allowed to work in law enforcement even as a $8 per hour security guard. The mother of the 11 year old is the one who needs to be incarcerated for filing such a ridiculous claim.

by alfred	01/12/07 11:38 AM
some of the people on here remind me of that ad on tv perfect town usa

by jack s	01/12/07 11:33 AM
Deputy Craig, If you just gotta arrest someone, arrest the parents. If the parents are held accountable for their children's bad behavior, then these incidents would be on the decline instead of increasing. making a media circus dosent help either.

by Mary	01/12/07 11:12 AM
What is wrong with the mother who demanded charges be pressed? This kind of thing needs to be handled with discipline on the part of the offending child's parents, and a time out or dentention at school. Children should not be arrested.

by Jim	01/12/07 11:03 AM
Since when is "showing no emotion" always a bad thing? What do they say about judging a book by its cover?

by Kay	01/12/07 10:43 AM
Yes, there should be consequences. But not legal ones! There is no mention of any kind of injury to the older child so keep that in mind. This is an issue for the parents to deal with, not law enforcement.

by Jim	01/12/07 10:34 AM
Where is this mother coming from? Has a deputy Arrest a seven year old for throwing a backpack! Even the system thought is was rediculous and let the boy go back to school. I say, "if ya got to pee find a tree!"

by Kel	01/12/07 10:29 AM
Children need to learn that consequences exist for every action. He needs to be shown NOW that those behaviors are unacceptable. Do you wait til the child is 18 to show him what he's been doing since 10 is wrong?

by Dave	01/12/07 10:28 AM
Another excellent use of our tax dollars!

by jj	01/12/07 10:28 AM
unbelievable! is this why our property taxes are through the roof so we can be sure to arrest every kid that acts like a kid. imagine if we were arrested for everything we did...spitballs, wrestling, laughing outloud in class...

by MIKE	01/12/07 10:15 AM
FOR ASST STATE ATTTORNEYS, PROSECUTORS AND HILLSBOUGH COUNTY DEPUTIES TO BE SPENDING AND TIME ON A NEIGHBORHOOD SPAT BETWEEN KIDS IS THE DUMBEST THING OF ALL. I GUESS THINGS ARE GOING SO WELL IN HILLSBOUGH THAT THERES NO OTHER CRIME TO PURSUE???

by peno	01/12/07 10:11 AM
it makes no sense to charge a seven year old child -teach not arrest--but children learn by example and in fla you can shoot and kill someone if you perceive a threat---maybe the child was just following the example taught by legislators and the NRA

by Richard	01/12/07 10:04 AM
It is newsworthy. If that were your kid, I'd bet you'd care a little bit more. Obviously this kid has been taught that,not only is it ok to urinate in public, but that it's ok to be violent in retaliation. Why wasn't the 11 year old repremand?

by John	01/12/07 09:51 AM
This is beyond stupid. Kids will be kids, especially at that age. The deputy Gary Craig needs to be dumped for a serious lack of judgement.

by Bev	01/12/07 09:10 AM
Much ado about nothing - yet the "showed no emotion" comment caught my attention. His parent(s)should be concerned NOW - before it's too late and get him some help. At 47, regardless of the reason, I'd be upset to be placed in police custody.

by Carl	01/12/07 07:55 AM
If the parents don't start start taking charge of their children, they are asking for nothing but trouble. The problem is that if the parents are afraid to do anything because big government will stick their nose in and arrest the parent.