A 9-year-old Idaho boy is being held in a juvenile facility after failing to appear in court. His crime? Stealing a pack of gum and
twice failing to appear in court. His family doesn't have a car and said they had no way to get him to court. Even the police chief is surprised it has been taken this far:
Haug says this is the first time in his 30 years in law enforcement that he's ever seen an arrest warrant issued for someone as young as nine.
"I was surprised that it had gotten to this level," says Haug.
Haug went on to say he wished they'd known the family couldn't get to court, the police department would've stepped in to help.
In the meantime, the young boy has been held in a juvenile detention facility. It would seem this kid has been failed by any number of people in this situation—parents, store owner and the court system.
See the KHQ report here.