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guns associated press photo
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg is trying to change a state law that lets juveniles get convicted five times for illegally possessing a gun before they face any real consequences. (AP image)

Lack of penalties encouraging young criminals to keep using guns

BY Josh Kerns  on January 29, 2013 @ 10:58 am (Updated: 12:07 pm - 1/29/13 )

When a young person uses a gun illegally, you'd figure the system would crack down hard to nip the problem in the bud. You'd be wrong. Currently, it takes five convictions before a juvenile caught illegally possessing a gun gets put into longer-term juvenile detention.

But King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg is trying to change that. After failing twice before to convince state lawmakers to stiffen penalties, he's again proposed a new measure with State Sen. Adam Kline and State Rep. Chris Hurst, along with an unprecedented alliance between gun control and gun rights advocates.

Under current laws, a kid caught illegally possessing a gun the first four times can get up to 30 days in a local juvenile facility, but Satterberg tells The David Boze Show they usually do much less or no time and usually just get a slap on the wrist.

"They can get some probation or they can pick up some trash for a couple of hours or write a book report. That's about it."

Only after a fifth conviction for illegal possession of a gun do they get sent to the Department of Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration for a 15-week sentence.

It's one of the reasons gangs recruit and leverage young people to carry their guns, because they know they won't face any serious consequences, Satterberg says.

"That just seems ridiculous to me. People are pretty surprised to find out," he says.

That would change under the new law. Satterberg's proposal, SB5376 and HB 1096, calls for a mandatory 10-day sentence on the first conviction, and a 15-week sentence at the JRA for the second.

"Our present law does kids absolutely no favors at all by being lenient, because what happens somewhere between that first conviction and that fifth one, they usually pull that gun out of their pocket and shoot somebody."

Satterberg says the 15-week sentence is about more than just having kids "cool their heels." He's also advocating a new juvenile gun curriculum that counters many of the myths about guns young people see in video games and media, and warns them of the consequences.

While lawmakers have defeated similar proposals over budget concerns, Satterberg calls that short sighted, arguing it'll cost a lot more later on if a kid turns into an adult offender.

"We're going to pay all of that money to lock one kid up for 30 years after they've killed somebody."

Boze agrees. "If the programs you're talking about would actually work and divert even 20 percent of these kids [it seems] that your savings overall would be fairly swift over the period of a few years."

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (42)


  • Add A Comment

  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    "...possessing a gun the first four times can..."
    January 29, 2013 7:10 pm
    How can it be a "first" if they were already caught three times?
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  • fishnpol wrote...
    M 101
    January 29, 2013 7:41 pm
    Everytime you post you just show everyone that you're more ignorant than a person has the right to be. It's ignorant and or lazy fools that are ruining America!! You can post all the ignorant shiat you want, it'll never make you right, it just goes to show the fool that you are!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TimeForNewLeadership wrote...
    Slam them and they will learn
    January 30, 2013 12:27 am
    Word gets around on the street and in school. These kids know exactly what they are in for if they get caught. Stiffer initial penalties will most certainly be a deterrent.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    Great point, "People need to get slammed". Only problem with this?
    January 30, 2013 6:18 am
    People ACTUALLY have to be punished!

    That Scumbag who killed Tuba man, how many times has he been out of the grey bar? Enforce the laws (22 hundred gun laws on the books!) put criminals in jail for years instead of how long it takes to throw their bail!

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  • Concerned US Citizen wrote...
    Brilliant
    January 30, 2013 6:23 am
    Yet our so called brilliant president wants to spend $500,000,000 or 1/2 a billion dollars on why there is gun violence. With no consequences for carrying a gun for a juvenile whose mind is not as developed as an adult it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure ou why all these gang shootings are happening in our cities. With the president's policy of amnesty for illegals there is now drug turf wars between the black and Hispanic gangs. Yet our dummy in chief needs a study to figure it out!! On top of that he wants to turn me into a criminal for owning my guns to protect myself from these losers. Lock these kids up for their first offense and a 2nd offense they are tried as an adult and do HARD time in a real prison!!!
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  • OceanPro wrote...
    Every action has an opposite and equal reaction - esp in this State
    January 30, 2013 7:52 am
    It's good in theory to increase the penalty for juveniles who get caught with guns....however this will trigger a waterfall of crapdom. The cries of "we need more money now and we need funding" and the cops will say "we have no more police resources to do this so we need more money" Blah blah blah. I have said it before, guns are extremely valuable on the street and there is no way you are going to stop them from being in the hands of bad people. Period. The horses are out of the barn, baby....
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  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    How can it be a "first" if they were already caught three times?
    January 30, 2013 8:05 am
    It's liberal "logic". Sort of like spending and borrowing your way to "prosperity" and $16 trillion is NOT a problem.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • J-Bone wrote...
    Failure of the legal system
    January 30, 2013 8:09 am
    This is the kind of story that should dominate the evening news on an endless loop. Regardless of party affiliation, I'd hope that this would upset every rational citizen of Washington. 5 convictions! Change the sentencing guidelines, at least attempt to fix the problem at an early age. These judges and prosecutors are mostly elected officials and should be mocked for creating such an absurd rule.
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  • JohnQEveryman wrote...
    ...
    January 30, 2013 8:57 am
    There's a bit of a disconnect in this story. Illegally possessing a firearm isn't always indicative of potential criminal activity; it often is, but that's like saying anyone that carries a knife is going to use it for criminal activity. Sometimes, people carry weapons illegally for personal security because they don't have the wherewithal to possess the weapon legally. The irony in all this hoopla over guns recently is that WA has some of the most liberal gun laws, yet some of the lowest instances of crime with firearms. Let's maybe focus on the socio-economic conditions that lead these youth to offend and stop trying to use misguided, knee-jerk legislation to do the trick.
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  • HLC wrote...
    Hey messy.
    January 30, 2013 10:03 am
    Have you found the term Separation Of Church and State yet? Whats the problem? Good luck with that. As far as chargeing the young people with felonies for gun crimes, they are the voting base of the left. Never happen.
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  • JohnQEveryman wrote...
    "Separation Of Church and State"
    January 30, 2013 12:06 pm
    "Separation Of Church and State" is a misnomer. The 1st Amendment only states the government shall make no law 'establishing religion', but the "wall of separation between Church and State" was a statement Thomas Jefferson wrote in letter in 1802. It has since been used to better explain the intent of the Establishment Clause in the 1st Amendment.
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