(Washington, DC) Robert J Spagnoletti, Attorney General for the District of Columbia, announced that his office charged a fourteen-year-old juvenile with Second Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault, Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle, Leaving after Colliding, Reckless Driving and other charges, after he caused a fatal traffic accident resulting in the death of Marx Aristide, 37, a prominent activist for democracy and development in Haiti.
On Saturday, June 19, 2004, the fourteen-year-old juvenile was recklessly driving a stolen Jeep Cherokee on 14th Street, NW, when he ran a red light, striking and killing Mr. Aristide—the driver, and seriously injuring a passenger in Aristide’s car. The juvenile was traveling at a very high rate of speed when the stolen Jeep Cherokee he was driving slammed into the driver’s side of Aristide’s vehicle. The impact caused Aristide’s car to spin out of control and collide with another vehicle. Aristide died the following day as a result of injuries sustained in this incident.
The fourteen-year-old driver and the fourteen-year-old passenger of the stolen Jeep attempted to flee the scene. However, several concerned citizens stopped the juveniles until police arrived.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Aristide’s fiancée and family during this difficult time,” said Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti. “Tragedies such as this make it absolutely clear that juvenile justice reform is critical.” Spagnoletti’s office, which is responsible for prosecuting juveniles under District law, sees over 1,500 people each year who have been victimized by juvenile offenders. In the past two years, his office has prosecuted a number of vehicular homicides, including the 2003 death of Shirley Pugh, who was killed by a thirteen-year-old driving a stolen car, and the 2003 death of fifteen-year-old John Johnson, who was killed by a sixteen-year-old friend who was driving a stolen vehicle.
“Victims and members of the community are begging us to act swiftly to strengthen the juvenile justice laws to provide for greater accountability for youth,” said Spagnoletti. Spagnoletti added that the Mayor’s pending juvenile justice legislation, B15-537, now renamed the Omnibus Juvenile Justice Amendment Act of 2004, would help to strengthen the law by providing greater accountability for youth and parents, ensuring that cases are no longer dismissed by judges until after adjudicating the issue of guilt, recognizing the right of victims, and permitting prosecutors to share limited information about cases with crime victims. That legislation was successfully voted out of the District of Columbia Council’s Judiciary Committee on June 22, 2004, with some amendments to the version originally proposed by the Mayor. The bill is now expected to come before the full Council for a vote in the fall.
“While we are pleased with the steps the Judiciary Committee has taken to move this important legislation through,” said Spagnoletti, “it is tragic that lives continue to be lost in the interim.” A trial date for the most recent juvenile now facing charges of Second Degree Murder has not yet been set.