WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Following Wednesday's deadly shootings in Orlando that claimed three lives, including a television reporter, there are still many unanswered questions.
According to the Orange County sheriff, the suspect, Keith Melvin Moses, 19, had a lengthy juvenile record with violent charges involving guns.
The state attorney in Central Florida on Thursday raised concerns about the juvenile justice system and its limitations for violent crimes.
According to court records, the only adult charge that Moses had on his record was drug possession charges.
The state attorney in Orange County clarified that was for 4.6 grams, a quantity too small to test, therefore the charges were dropped.
There are still many questions surrounding his juvenile record, which the sheriff in Orange County said is extensive.
"At 19, he has a lengthy criminal history to include gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges," Sheriff John Mina said during a Wednesday news conference.
Monique Worrell, the state attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, said her office has been flooded with questions about Moses' prior cases.
"I am unable to discuss with you, or confirm or deny the existence, of any juvenile dispositions that happened regarding this individual, but I will say that juvenile dispositions are not qualified as convictions," Worrell said.
Worrell added that there are strict limitations when it comes to the juvenile punishment of minors for violent crimes. She's asking legislators to extend the period of time offenders remain in juvenile programs.
"Currently for our max-risk programs, you're looking at a term of 18 to 36 months in a max-risk program," Worrell said. "That is the worst possible punishment in our juvenile system, but that doesn't match individuals who are involved in gun violence."
West Palm Beach-based Inner City Innovators founder Ricky Aiken mentors at-risk youth and said what happened in Orlando isn't an isolated event.
"I know so many youth that I work with where getting arrested is cool," Aiken said. "It's a slap on the wrist, and it adds to their perceived respect in the community."
He said failures extend beyond lack of appropriate punishment.
"If you hold a kid longer in a juvenile program, what are you doing with them? If we're honest, most of our juvenile detention centers are holding cells, these kids need intense social, emotional, learning and PTSD healing techniques," Aiken said. "If you take a kid that doesn't know how to process the stressors in his life anyway, and you put a gun in his hand, you just created a bomb that's bound to go off in our community at any time."
Florida law does not allow the state attorney in Orange County to say anything about a potential juvenile criminal past for the accused shooter but her attention is focused on changing the juvenile justice system.
"Our system was not designed to deal with children being the perpetrator of violent crime," Worrell said.
