Crime & Safety
Teens in Alleged School Bus Beating Make Court Appearance
Supervised probation is being recommended for two of the three allegedly involved in attacking a younger teen. The surveillance video is a key piece of evidence.
The three teens accused of beating a younger student aboard a Pinellas County school bus made a court appearance Tuesday.
A recommendation of court-supervised probation was made for two of the 15-tear-old boys, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Those two boys face "juvenile aggravated battery" charges.
A recommendation has not been made yet for the third teen, who faces juvenile aggregated battery and robbery charges.
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Meanwhile, the father of one of the three boys made an apology today prior to the court appearance. He "just got mixed [up] with bad people, that’s all … He’s sorry,” said Julian McKnight, according to Fox News.
The case has gained national publicity since a video of the beating was released and showed the violence of the incident, which resulted in the 13-year-old victim suffering a broken arm.
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The Tampa Bay Times reports that Assistant State Attorney William F. Schopper told the judge: "It's hard to convey what happened in this case without actually seeing the video." He is arguing for a stricter form of probation for the two.
The beating apparently was in retaliation against the younger boy for refusing to buy marijuana from two of the three teenage suspects.
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