Youth convicted in Chico High track attack gets 4 years in juvenile hall

CHICO >> The minor convicted of attacking a 71-year-old woman at the Chico High School track was sentenced to four years and six months in the Butte County Juvenile Hall on Thursday.

According to a press release issued Thursday by Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey, the juvenile said he blacked out during the incident because of a combination of Zanax and cannabis, though the judge said he did not believe this.

On June 2, the woman was using the track to exercise when the 14-yearold boy snuck up behind her and hit her with a fence post, leading to severe injuries as well as bleeding from the brain. He then dragged her to the field and strangled her. The attack was caught via surveillance cameras. She was found at 6:30 a.m. the next day by custodians.

It was also noted in the release that four-and-ahalf years is the maximum sentence for the crime.

The attacker admitted to attempted first-degree murder, Ramsey said.

The release said the attacker will be sent to the local facility as the previous state-run facilities, the California Youth Authority and the Department of Juvenile Justice, were closed.

“Despite popular myth, CYA and then DJJ, have not been ‘gladiator schools’ for the past two decades,” Ramsey said.” These state institutions had the most cutting-edge and scientifically-validated rehab programs for youth in the nation. A troubled and dangerous youth had the resources of these state institutions as the best chance at rehabilitation during the limited time that a juvenile is subject to the juvenile court’s jurisdiction. Unfortunately, the legislature and the governor closed these state institutions to our most dangerous youths last year.”

Ramsey went on to say that the local juvenile facility, run by the Butte County Probation Department, has made some adjustments because of the lack of state facilities.

“However, the Butte County Probation Department, which runs the local juvenile hall, has along with local criminal justice partners, begun an effort to turn our local juvenile hall into a higher security facility that will attempt to replicate the DJJ rehab programs for extremely dangerous youth locally. It will be a work in progress,” Ramsey said.