Four U.S. teens arrested in crash near Yokota

[unhappycamper]

Four U.S. teens arrested in crash near Yokota
By Charlie Reed and Hana Kusumoto, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, December 7, 2009

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Japanese police on Saturday arrested four American teenagers suspected of stringing a rope across a street near the base in August and causing a Japanese motorcyclist to crash, seriously injuring her.

The teens, whose parents are servicemembers stationed at Yokota, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder but have not been charged, authorities said.

Japanese police can question adult suspects for 48 hours and hold them an additional 21 days while prosecutors determine whether to file charges. Though the young Americans are considered juveniles under Japanese law, they could be charged as adults. It was unclear Saturday how long they could be held in custody.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police executed the arrest warrant after more than a week of discussions between U.S. and Japanese officials over whether the teens should be exempt from arrest until formally charged — as is the case with U.S. troops and most civilian employees under the status of forces agreement.

Before Saturday, the U.S. had maintained that dependent family members qualify for the same protections as military personnel and that the teens — who surrendered their passports to base officials late last month — should not be taken into custody.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=66488

[MineralMan]

1. Rotten little shits!

If they did what was described, I say throw the damned book at them. That is a vicious, cowardly act, and should be charged as attempted murder, for sure.

That the kids are Americans is irrelevant. They are criminals now.

[FreakinDJ]

2. and what of the farmer who placed a single strand of Barbed Wire

As a kid growing up I remember reading a news paper article about a motorcyclist who was decapitated by a single strand of Barbed Wire placed across an opening in a farmer's fence. Appearently some kids tore a hole in the fence so they could trespass onto the farmers property and ride their dirt bikes.

I don't think he was ever charged

[MineralMan]

3. I think the farmer should have been charged.

The dirt bike kids were also little shits, but there's no death penalty for trespassing, as far as I know. So, the farmer broke the law and should have paid a price for that.

However, the two incidents are not at all related. In one, the farmer was attempting to protect his property, and did it the wrong way. In the Yakota case, four teenagers thought they were doing a prank, but it was a potentially deadly prank, and someone was seriously injured. Their motivations were wrong from the start...they intended to cause an accident for someone they didn't even know, nor had the victim ever harmed them in any way.

Worse, the did this off the base, so they figured it would be "just a Japanese" who got hurt. Willful disregard of the very predictable consequences of their act is the main issue here. The four, if they did this, are little shits and should get to spend some quality time in a Japanese prison.

[jtylerpittman]

4. why charge the farmer

why would he be criminaly liable

[PavePusher]

5. "I was trying to repair the fence...

...and only had time to put up one strand of wire...."

Personaly, I'd think he was a malicious fool, but proving intent would be pretty hard.

[jtylerpittman]

6. ya

i do not think you would be able to get somthing like that to stick

[MineralMan]

8. You might just be surprised. Juries don't like people who set out to

seriously injure or kill people because they trespassed. Second degree manslaughter at the worst, though, maybe 10 years.

[jtylerpittman]

9. it would be hard to prove intent

unless there is some kind of evidence that is not in this article. I could see know way you would be able to convict. But I do not know the first thing about Japanesse criminal syestem.

[MineralMan]

11. Uh, there are two different cases being discussed in this thread.

Only one of them happened in Japan. The farmer was in the US. Two cases. You can count them on one hand. In neither case do we have much information.

As you read more threads on DU, you'll discover that you have to read entire posts, not just the titles. People actually write things here. Good luck with your membership.

[MineralMan]

7. Uh, because he deliberately killed the dirt biker. He was a grownup.

He put a single strand of wire, knowing that the dirt biker would not see it and be injured. That's why he did it. Homicide. I know what he'll say, but it's a lie.

[jtylerpittman]

10. you would need evidence showing intent

or else you will not even get it to a trial