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() An 11-year-old boy who was involved in the fatal hit-and-run of a bicyclist during a joyride in a stolen vehicle last year will be charged with murder when he turns 12 this month, the local district attorney says.
“We need to do everything we can to hold these young kids accountable when they do something like this and protect the community,” Bernalillo County, N.M., District Attorney Sam Bregman told “Banfield” exclusively Thursday.
The announcement comes after a 13-year-old boy who drove the vehicle that struck and killed 63-year-old Scott Habermehl pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. A judge ordered him held until he turns 21.
The 11-year-old, who cannot be detained until he turns 12, could receive the same punishment under state law, said Bregman, who confirmed he knows where the boy is.
A third juvenile involved in the crime was 15 at the time of the hit-and-run and is charged as an adult. He is in jail awaiting trial.
Bregman said the case and the different ways the offenders have been charged demonstrates how New Mexico law must be updated to reflect changing times. His office has charged 46 youthful offenders with murder during his tenure, he said.
“We don’t have a juvenile code in New Mexico that has caught up with the things that we’re seeing on the streets of Albuquerque. It’s very disheartening,” he said.
Habermehl, an engineer, was riding his bicycle to Sandia National Laboratories last May when the youths, riding in a stolen vehicle, intentionally swerved to strike him, authorities said.
Cellphone video of the crash that surfaced on social media was instrumental in helping police track down the suspects. In the footage, the 11-year-old is seen brandishing a handgun while the 15-year-old, riding in the back, urges the driver to strike the bicyclist.