Joyriding in a Golf Cart

*All names have been changed to protect the identities of the participants.

Zipping down the street

Two weeks ago, 13 year old Brent and his Mom watched from their porch as 14 year olds Donald and Jeremy zipped down their street in a stolen golf cart.  And Brent did exactly what his mom warned him not to do: he jumped onto the cart for a ride.  By the time the Covington Golf Course employees and the police caught up with the boys, Donald and Jeremy ran off and Brent was arrested and handcuffed.  Jeremy was listed as an accomplice but the police couldn’t locate him so he was not arrested. 

Stealing a golf cart, in the eyes of the law, is a felony which is equivalent to stealing a car.  After Brent was processed at Juvenile Booking, he was processed at the Department of Juvenile Services and sent to the Maryland State’s Attorney’s office for adjudication. 

Once the State’s Attorney’s office approved this case for referral to Community Conferencing, our trained facilitator began preparation for a Community Conference with the boys, their supporters, and the golf course representatives.  At the Community Conference everyone would have an opportunity to:

• Hear what happened
• Find out how everyone has been affected
• Find ways to repair the harm (including possible restitution) and prevent it from ever happening again

The facilitator met with Covington Golf Course manager Mr. Marvin, offering him the opportunity to hold the boys accountable for their actions by holding the Community Conference.  During the conference he could tell them-- face-to-face--how he was personally affected by the incident.  Also, he could ask for restitution to help with the $130 worth of repairs on the cart and ask the boys to never steal again as part of their agreement.

Everyone understood that, if group came up with an agreement and there was compliance with that agreement, then the Maryland State’s Attorney’s Office won’t pursue the matter any further. 

Trying something new

At first Mr. Marvin was resistant, “These are a couple of punk kids.  Why don’t we just take them to court?”  Turns out he had been to court for a similar case but it took valuable time out of his work week and besides, no restitution was paid.  After taking time to reflect on the bad experience in court, he decided to try Community Conferencing.  He understood that if it didn’t work, then he could still take the case to court.  

Brent’s and Jeremy’s families were interested in working things out directly with Mr. Marvin.  The facilitator was unable to reach the third boy, Donald.

This has got to stop

A few days later everyone met and the boys explained, “We didn’t mean any harm.  We just wanted to ride around on the cart for fun in the neighborhood.”  And the boys revealed that Donald was the one who stole the cart and brought it to the neighborhood.  “So where is Donald?  We need him here too,” demanded Mr. Marvin.  The boys looked at each other.  Then Jeremy shook his head, “He got shot in the head a week ago.”  The room fell silent.  Finally Mr. Marvin shared, “We don’t want that to happen to you two.  That’s why we’re here today.  I’m sick and tired of seeing African American boys getting shot or stealing or going to jail.  This has got to stop.” 

Written agreement

The family members added that they didn’t raise their boys to steal and that they know better.  Mr. Marvin outlined how bad it was that day for the golf course and how they had to pull employees off the course to chase after the cart.  Jeremy and Brent reflected on how their parents were affected because they had to take time off work to deal with everything and the anxiety they caused them.  Jeremy’s Dad, who suffers from cancer, had to reschedule his chemotherapy appointment to deal with things.  When asked if they wanted to say anything, Brent immediately said, “I’m sorry for what I did.  I’m also sorry you had to fix the cart.”  Jeremy chimed in, “I’m sorry y’all.  I know what I did was wrong.”  Everyone accepted their apologies.    

As part of the agreement, Mr. Marvin asked for $65 from each boy to cover the repairs of the golf cart.  Jeremy’s father pulled out $65 cash and paid right on the spot.  Brent’s mom arranged to pay after her next pay day within the month.  In addition, the boys agreed to never steal again and to write apology letters to the owners of the golf course by the end of the following week.   

Afterwards, Mr. Marvin shook hands with each boy and told them, “I want to see you boys succeed.”

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