A supervisor in the Washington, D.C., Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services has been fired and a case manager suspended for “inexcusable neglect of duty” after a youth ws released and soon became a suspect in the shootings of nine people, the Washington Post reports. Five teenagers were wounded last month in a drive-by shooting for which former inmate Deidrick Johnson, 17, was arrested, and he is a “person of interest” in the shooting of four others.
Washington Post columnist Colbert King says Johnson was in the agency’s custody from 2004 to 2006, when he was discharged. An official said he was on the loose or “in abscondence status” for almost a year. He was arrested Nov. 19 but released eight days later. Says King: “After being a fugitive for 10 months, he’s arrested and [jailed]. Eight days later he’s back on the streets. A few weeks after that, nine people get shot. Why was he released?” The agency won’t comment, citing juvenile confidentiality laws.
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/01/AR2008020102623.html