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Unfortunately, the facts of the case based on confessions of those involved, are indicating these kids are in some deep trouble. I think the felony murder rule may be related to the hit and run and not the theft.
A couple of the suspects admitted going to the meetup with the intent to rob the girl. Two boys got out of the car and tried to get the drugs from her. She refused to give the bag to them without being paid first. The pair returned to the pickup truck. The other two suspects (one male, one female) approached the girl and grabbed the bag from her. They ran off and she gave chase. The girl hopped on the driver's side of the pickup and Simmons sped off. He punched her in the face and head several times. She fell off. The driver stopped the truck and the two kids who stole the bag jumped in. They sped off.
There has been no statement as to whether they ran her over, but given the extent of her injuries, I would think so.
Interesting, I thought I had read there was a hit-and-run charge in all of this. Every time I look at the website article it's been edited or changed.
If all he did was punch her off the truck, and the truck never ran over her, they may have left without ever realizing the extent of her injuries. She may have simply fallen and hit her head and died as a result of that (as a result of the punch, or the movement of the truck, or by simply not having a good enough grip, or all of the above).
If that's what happened, it means they are guilty of misdemeanor larceny and probably very little else.
It is very unlikely that his "punches" would result in serious injury by themselves, and pretty much zero chance they would result directly in death. A right cross to an open window on the drivers side, or a left handed punch would have very little power behind it due to the sitting position and the physics involved of twisting the torso. Also the driver is not a big guy. Maybe enough force to knock her off the truck (a left elbow would be the most effective defense there), but again if this is the situation, the driver can simply say she was assaulting him with intent to cause serious harm (causing the truck to wreck) by grabbing the wheel (whether or not she was grabbing the wheel, he is probably the only one who would know).
I have a feeling there's more to it (that the truck did run over her) than her falling and hitting her head, though. It would be extremely embarrassing for them to press murder charges, only for it to later be discovered that no "robbery" actually took place (just a planned misdemeanor snatch and run, no threat of violence or intimidation for it to qualify as robbery). Like you said I'm guessing the truck ran her over at some point, because if not its more likely she died from head trauma from falling off the truck she made the choice to climb onto, or from a fall caused by stroke or heart attack due to drugs in her system.
I hope everyone that supports the victim knows they are sending a very clear message to teenage girls that its okay to sell drugs as long as you stay sugar and spice and all that's nice, the rest of the citizens will rush to your defense if you get in trouble.
Anyone can look at her picture and tell that's not true.
But that doesn't get the driver off the hook. When parents tell kids not to fall in with the wrong crowd, this is why. Their actions can send you to jail.
Oh, her "friend" who told the good samaritan not to call the cops? One wonders where HIS parents are as he spouts off to the media all the details of what he did/didn't do that night.
"With friends like this..."
Yeah, typical stupid, immature kids. Her friend clearly panicked, didn't now what to do. So sad this young woman lost her life over something so ridiculous. and now these kids may spend years in prison. I've said this before, the drug problem among kids here is BAD! And they are vicious about their territory and "business". We moved my grandson out of Cary and away from all these kids. He saw too many crazy things going on there. We transferred him to Knightdale HS and he said the drug situation at Kdale was minimal compared to the Cary HS he attended.
It's a sad situation....but situations like this are happening all the time in the triangle, sadly, it's becoming a run of the mill thing.
Yeah, typical stupid, immature kids. Her friend clearly panicked, didn't now what to do. So sad this young woman lost her life over something so ridiculous. and now these kids may spend years in prison. I've said this before, the drug problem among kids here is BAD! And they are vicious about their territory and "business". We moved my grandson out of Cary and away from all these kids. He saw too many crazy things going on there. We transferred him to Knightdale HS and he said the drug situation at Kdale was minimal compared to the Cary HS he attended.
It's a sad situation....but situations like this are happening all the time in the triangle, sadly, it's becoming a run of the mill thing.
And, yet, all 3 of mine attend/have attended Cary schools and have never had to deal with drugs or friends who were using drugs.
I think it depends on the kid and the company they keep.
The few kids mine have known who were somewhat wild have always put my kids on guard. I was like that when I was their age. Maybe it's a mindset or a learned trait. I'm just not sure.
Any kid at pretty much any high school in the country can get hooked on drugs if they are attracted to them.
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Anyone can look at her picture and tell that's not true.
I've learned enough about people over the years to know I can't judge who a person is simply from their photo. I'm judging her based on what I know about her drug-dealing actions. The sugar and spice comment wasn't necessarily meant to describe her, it was a more general statement about how society treats one demographic profile versus the other.
Attractive female schoolteacher sexually involved with male student? She'll get a slap on the wrist compared to the older male with the beer belly and beard, who they will put under the jail with minimal investigation of course. That sort of thing sends a message that it's okay to be pedophile as long as you appear a certain way, special treatment is available.
Ignoring the drug-dealer aspect of this case is essentially the same sort of thing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sherifftruman
But that doesn't get the driver off the hook. When parents tell kids not to fall in with the wrong crowd, this is why. Their actions can send you to jail.
Everyone of the kids involved in this case is guilty of something. Even if one or more of them were only along for the ride, they are guilty of not choosing the company they keep more carefully.
The source of why kids have ended up like this is a topic all it's own. Our society is no longer conducive to tight, close knit families. That's not to say they don't occur, but we now live in a situation where there is a great deal of financial incentive for one spouse to divorce another, and I believe this breakdown of family values leads to a lot of the problems we see in kids today. The lack of attention from parents, many of whom don't stay closely plugged into their kids' lives, and most importantly the lack of discipline. I'm not claiming it can always be helped, I think sometimes parents are just too busy trying to keep it all together with work and raising kids, and perhaps not up to the task.
As it relates to this particular case, anything that downplays the victims role in her own death only contributes to the above issue even more, by sending the message it's okay to sell drugs as long as you're demographically advantaged.
The few kids mine have known who were somewhat wild have always put my kids on guard. I was like that when I was their age. Maybe it's a mindset or a learned trait. I'm just not sure.
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Funny but it's the same here. I have one kid who is very social, but he became less so in middle school. I actually have wondered if it's because he wants to avoid some of the stupid things middle school boys do. My others seem similar and that's kind of how I was.
As I said in an earlier post this has been a case with so many teachable moments, from "a seemingly innocuous situation can spin wildly out of control in mere seconds" to "be careful who you hang out with" to "get help first and worry about your punishment later".
We live in the Green Hope base and know plenty of kids who have many other interests besides drugs. At such a huge school, it is difficult to believe the culture can't be avoided.
Funny but it's the same here. I have one kid who is very social, but he became less so in middle school. I actually have wondered if it's because he wants to avoid some of the stupid things middle school boys do. My others seem similar and that's kind of how I was.
As I said in an earlier post this has been a case with so many teachable moments, from "a seemingly innocuous situation can spin wildly out of control in mere seconds" to "be careful who you hang out with" to "get help first and worry about your punishment later".
We live in the Green Hope base and know plenty of kids who have many other interests besides drugs. At such a huge school, it is difficult to believe the culture can't be avoided.
My eldest was very outgoing in elementary school, but he became more selective in his friendships through middle and high (he graduated from GHHS several years ago). My middle will be a senior there next year. He's always been the type to keep just 2-3 friends and avoid the "crowd."
My daughter will be starting GHHS next year. She's somewhere between her brothers, personality-wise. Like her older brother, she tends to tell me about stuff her friends do that seems odd. I'm glad she does that. It gives us the opportunity to talk about it. I've tried to foster this open communication in hopes that she will continue to talk with me this way as she gets older. All my kids know that pretty much nothing shocks me.
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