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4 Hamilton County teen carjacking suspects to be tried as adults, DA says


File photo: WTVC
File photo: WTVC
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UPDATES (November 13th):

4 teen carjacking suspects will be tried as adults, Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp says.

The DA listed their names and charges:

Kadarius Anderson: Unlawful possession of a firearm, evading arrest, and aggravated robbery. 16 at time of transfer.

Jamar Edwards: Robbery, aggravated robbery, and evading arrest. 14 at time of transfer.

Darriun Jones: Aggravated assault x3, assault x4, evading arrest, unlawful possession of a firearm, and aggravated robbery. 16 at time of transfer.

Jamarvin Patterson: Theft of property, carjacking, reckless endangerment, driving without a license, evading arrest, failure to maintain lane, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and aggravated assault x4. 15 at time of transfer.

EARLIER (February 3rd):

Saying her department wants to "double down" on violent crime, Hamilton County District Attorney Coty Wamp announced Friday that she wants to push to have 5 of 6 recent teen suspects arrested for carjacking in 2 separate incidents tried as adults.

Watch Wamp's news conference below:

The first incident happened on January 26th.

3 teens are accused of holding a woman at gunpoint and taking her car from the parking lot of CHI Memorial Hospital.

The suspects in that case are ages 16, 16 and 14. Wamp says she plans to file a motion to have each of these suspects tried as adults.

The second incident happened 2 days later, on January 28th, on Roanoke Avenue.

There, the victim was trying to sell his car when 3 teens, aged 15, 14 and 13, held him at gunpoint and stole his car.

Police located the stolen vehicle and chased it after the driver wouldn't stop. That chase ended with a crash involving nearby cars on Lee Highway, one of which broke a guy wire.

Wamp says in this case, she's going to push to have the 15- and 14-year-olds tried as adults. State law prevents her from trying the 13-year-old as an adult.

Meanwhile, 5 juveniles were charged back on January 18th after police say they were found in a stolen vehicle that later crashed. Police tell us this incident was not considered a carjacking.

Police told us Friday morning that 3 of the juveniles arrested in that incident are 17, one is 16, and one is 14.

Wamp said she hopes this will send a message to teenagers in Hamilton County that committing serious crimes like carjacking has serious consequences.

Wamp also urged gun owners to keep guns out of their unattended cars, and urged all vehicle owners to keep their vehicles locked and valuable items kept out of sight.

She said the "smash and grab"-style burglaries are a thing of the past, and that car burglars, including teens, typically take opportunities to steal from vehicles only when they see them unlocked.

"These teens target nice neighborhoods, & they target urban neighborhoods," Wamp said, stressing that everyone should be mindful.

We showed Wamp’s pledge to LaDarius Price, founder of PEAK (placing emphasis around kids).

He works closely with the community to help keep kids off of a violent path.

"I do understand District Attorney Wamp’s position as it relates to wanting to send a clear cut message home, 'this is what happens, this is what the consequences are,'" says Price.

Price says that he knows the problem is plaguing Chattanooga, but some deserve a second chance.

"We don't want our kids to get themselves in a situation that they may not be able to come back from. But we definitely want them to understand the severity of the decisions that they're making," says Price.

Price also says that these situations have been happening more frequently and that working with the District Attorney to help educate teens would be helpful to show them that their actions do have consequences when getting involved in crime.

We're working to learn more details on this developing story.

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