While thousands of fresh-faced students are celebrating their graduation from colleges across the nation, other young Tucsonans are embarking on their own job paths.
A career in home invasions.
Tucson police recently made seven arrests in three separate home invasion incidents, with one of the most notable factors as the suspects’ ages.
All ranged from 17 to 22 – a time when many law-abiding young people are either in school, working or at least getting money legally by mooching off their parents.
Perhaps, as TC.com blogger Renee Schafer-Horton pointed out in her blog about brain development, these guys were too young to have a properly developed frontal lobe. That’s the part responsible for decision-making and impulse control that some surmise is not fully developed until age 26.
Or maybe these budding young criminals just see how a life of bursting into homes with firearms can be a bit more exciting than sitting in an office all day.
After all, they would get to pick their own hours, largely determine their own pay and not have to worry about things like paper cuts and office politics.
Nor do they need to attend college for such a career where advancement is determined from firearm size and savvy, rather than things like degrees. Training comes from friends, maybe family and, if they are caught, free lessons from fellow inmates.
But they’d be off to a more successful start of their careers if they steered clear of police.
Tucson police arrested Pierre Holness, 22, as well as Heath Williams and Domonick McCoy, both 18, for two separate home invasions at 2525 W. Anklam Road, according to a news release from the Tucson Police Department.
The first was on May 5 around 9:30 p.m., when two of the three allegedly busted into an apartment and pistol-whipped its resident, demanding drugs and money. The resident was able to get away and call police while the thieves took off with “miscellaneous items” from the home.
Perhaps since the thieves got away with it once, they targeted the same home May 11.
This time two thieves struck early – before 7 a.m. – and used the same M.O. They demanded drugs and money from a resident while holding the resident at gunpoint.
Police followed some leads and rounded up the trio. All three were booked into Pima County Jail on charges of armed robbery, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
Please keep in mind that filling out job applications is much more troublesome than having authorities fill in all the information for you on those jail booking slips.
You even get your picture taken for free – and you don’t have to wear that silly mortarboard.
Four more were arrested for conspiracy to commit armed robbery just after midnight on April 29, according to another Tucson police news release.
The four were Ernesto Flores Jr., 21; Adrian C. Apalategui, 18; Javier R. Herrera Jr., 19; and Ricardo A. Figueroa, 17.
A police sergeant pulled their car over for a traffic stop in the 400 block of East Speedway. Although all claimed to have no ID on them, police were able to determine Flores’ identity – as well as the fact that he had a felony warrant out for his arrest.
As the sergeant was getting Flores out of the car he noted a weapon, mask and gloves in the passenger area. Busted.
All four were then detained, with the other three identities learned later. A later search of the vehicle also produced more weapons and “additional suspicious items.”
Police even found out the home they were expecting to invade, in the same area where their car was stopped, and spoke to the intended victim. They were allegedly targeting the victim because they thought there were drugs and money in the house.
Yes, busting into a home in the dead of night beats the heck out of sitting through those banal job interview things.
Unless, of course, you’re caught.
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[tnipoll]
What do you think?
Does crime ever pay?
How do you instill non-criminal values in your own kids?
Should all criminals under age 18 be considered juveniles?
