Police chief calls for accountability amid youth crime wave

At a June 4 press conference regarding a multi-jurisdictional police chase that involved the arrest of three juveniles, law enforcement officials decried the lack of support from families and other agencies to make youth accountable for their criminal actions.

Brookhaven Police Chief Brandon Gurley and Capt. Abrem Ayana outlined the June 3 events that led to the arrest of 17-year-old Octavio Alexander Luviano and two other 15-year-year-old juveniles after a wild police chase through Fulton and Gwinnett counties, Sandy Springs, Brookhaven, Chamblee and Dunwoody.

The trio was seen fleeing from Doraville Police around 11:30 a.m. while driving a not-yet-reported stolen black Nissan Rogue. A drone launched by authorities detected the juveniles allegedly attempting to steal another car, a Hyundai sedan, in the 3100 block of Buford Highway.

An effort to detain the suspects was abandoned, but when it became known that the vehicle had been stolen, a pursuit ensued, which ended when the suspects’ vehicle turned onto I-85.

Police were alerted the suspects were also allegedly involved in an earlier shooting incident in unincorporated DeKalb County. Using technology across several jurisdictions, the car was detected again on Ashford Dunwoody Road, which led to a 30-minute police chase through Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and Gwinnett County with speeds that topped 95 mph. It ended when the Rogue hit a median wall on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard near the I-285 exit, according to Gurley and Ayana.

All three suspects are charged with multiple offenses, including possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime, auto theft, receiving stolen property, and loitering or prowling. One of the 15-year-olds was also charged with speeding, reckless driving and operating a vehicle without a license, Gurley said.

When asked about the reaction of the parents to their children’s arrest, Gurley did not specifically address the question, but said law enforcement agencies are seeing “a growing trend of serious crimes committed by juveniles,” and said the trend can be pinned on a lack of family accountability, along with failures by schools, courts, and community organizations to address troubled teens.

“Families are not taking ownership and accountability for raising their kids. We are being met with excuses, but with technology, there is no longer ‘he said, she said,” Gurley said. “It’s a dangerous place in society when we are no longer surprised when these serious incidents happen and that our youth are involved in it.”

Authorities say that they have gathered enough evidence showing that the trio is responsible for other crimes over the past four days.

“They are suspects in many other crimes spanning jurisdictions in the last three or four days,” Gurley said. “I expect that we will clear many of these cases.”