evading police

Earlier this month, two teens, Victor and Jonah Ledesma, 19 and 18, were sentenced to prison for robbing pedestrians at gunpoint and knifepoint during a crime spree in the Hillcrest, University Heights, North Park, and La Jolla communities. The two teens had pleaded guilty to robbery, auto theft and evading police back in September.

Victor Ledesma already had a robbery conviction, so he was sentenced to 21 years and four months imprisonment. Judge Timothy Walsh sentenced Jonah Ledesma to 13 years in prison. Additionally, two additional 15 year olds were arrested in connection to the crimes connected by the Ledesmas, but they were prosecuted in Juvenile court. Deputy District Attorney Jim Koerber said nine victims were held up during six robbery incidents.

The event that led up the suspects’ arrests occurred in Mission beach, when their car ran over a spike strip and smashed into another car. They were trying to evade the police in a car chase at the time.

It has been a busy year for criminal law development. With the seemingly unending current events surrounding police and citizen relations, the topic of when it is legal to run from police has resurfaced. It is already established by now that Freddie Gray was not doing anything wrong when he ran from police that tragic April 12. Police would later find out he had a switchblade in his pocket but that was not the reason why he ran. According to the police report, the patrol officer made eye contact with Gray, which prompted him to run. It was later discovered that in communities such as Gray’s, the mere presence of police make people nervous; that was the reason Gray ran. He was nervous since he has a past record of petty crime. It would also be discovered that Gray hailed from a neighborhood from Baltimore that had a poverty and unemployment rate of double that of the nation.

Articles Tagged with evading police

Teens Get Prison for Armed Robbery Spree; Plead Guilty to Evading Police

Evading a Police Officer: The Double Standard Created by the Supreme Court