A 16-year-old Addison youth will be tried as a juvenile for allegedly attempting to sell cocaine after a DuPage judge’s decision Friday to deny a prosecution request to have the case transferred to an adult court.
DuPage Juvenile Court Judge Thomas Riggs ruled that the youth, who was an Addison Trail High School sophomore when he was arrested in March, should remain subject to Juvenile Court procedures and sentencing.
Riggs noted in his decision that the youth has no juvenile criminal record and that a court-approved psychologist believed the youth is a good candidate for rehabilitation within the Juvenile Court system.
The teen was arrested after DuPage County undercover drug agents heard that the youth was involved in selling cocaine in the Addison area. The investigation resulted in a search warrant for the teen’s home, where police said they found almost 200 grams of cocaine.
DuPage prosecutors requested that the youth be tried as an adult because of the volume of cocaineIf convicted as an adult, the youth would have faced a minimum sentence of 9 years in prison to a maximum of 40 years. If convicted in Juvenile Court, the youth could be sentenced to the state Department of Corrections until his 21st birthday, but most likely his sentence would be from 18 months to 2 years.
“I am well aware of the large amount of illegal drugs in our community and the resultant consequences,” Riggs said. “Every day I see the results of juveniles addicted to drugs. But I have never seen a juvenile suspect with such as incident-free background. He is an excellent candidate for treatment, and there is a reasonable likelihood for rehabilitation.”
