Paul Murphy / Eyewitness News
NEW ORLEANS -- Fear over a recent string of home invasion, armed robberies in the New Orleans area is now giving way to a sense of outrage over the age of the suspects and their criminal histories leading up to the recent crimes.
Court records indicate two of the teenagers accused in these cases were in and out of jail prior to their latest arrests.
'A revolving door gives the connotation that you actually get out of your car and walk through the door, said NOPD Superintendent Ronal Serpas. 'This is a drive through. These kids don't even get out of a car any more. They just drive through the system and it is a frustration.'
According to court records, 18-year-old Albert Jones had 10 felony and eight misdemeanor charges before police picked him up for a break in and armed robbery in Lakeview.
That was his sixth arrest in the last two months.
Among the prior charges, burglary, possession of stolen property, theft, criminal trespassing and disturbing the peace.
On some of the earlier crimes, Jones was placed in a diversion program and the Orleans District Attorney's Office dropped the charges.
A spokesman for District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said prosecutors are now looking at re-instituting some of the charges.
Court records show another suspect, 19-year-old Charles Adams was on probation for an earlier burglary conviction at the time of his arrest.
Records show Adams violated that probation. Judge Terry Alarcon locked him up for 90 days, but then let him back out on the streets.
Shortly after Adams got out of jail, he was arrested in two of the recent home invasions.
Serpas said the courts continue to give breaks to repeat offenders.
'Courts are just simply sending them back to the streets of New Orleans and not dealing with their criminal backgrounds and just sending them back to the streets and every New Orleanian is at risk because of that,' said Serpas.
'The problem is a problem of resource allocation and failed attempts of rehabilitating people who desperate need services,' said Juvenile Public Defender Joshua Perry.
Perry runs the non-profit Juvenile Regional Services, which is contracted to handle cases involving young offenders by the Orleans Public Defenders Office.
He said there is a widespread failure to invest appropriately in troubled youth.
'Too frequently, when you fail to invest, when you fail to give people the services that they need, when your schools don't work properly, when there aren't the mental health services in place you may see repeat offenses,' said Perry.
New Orleans neighbors we talked with have mixed feelings about whether young repeat offenders are getting too many breaks.
'Their definitely needs to be some type of solid repercussion, so that way things don't keep going on over and over again,' said Alicia Troutman.
'I believe that the young people are not getting enough chances and the public school system is not providing them with enough opportunities,' said Seva Venet.
'How do these people keep getting out?' asked Joe Savage. 'I know if I get a traffic ticket they want to put me in jail, and yet these guys go out and they keep committing felony after felony after felony and they get out on the street. How does that happen? I really don't understand that. I really don't.'
We also looked at the case of 18-year old Ray Allen. He's accused of committing an armed robbery last Sunday in the Lower Garden District.
According to his record, Allen was arrested multiple times before the robbery and was even wearing a court ordered electronic monitoring device at the time of his arrest.
Court records show Allen had already violated his home incarceration once before, but Judge Arthur Hunter put him right back on the street.
