Two teenagers, a 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl armed with an AK-47, had a 35-minute shootout with police in Florida in June 2021.
Travis O'Brien, currently 13 years, pleaded no contest on Wednesday and was sentenced to a juvenile facility after firing at police last year with his teen friend and accomplice, Nicole Jackson. According to the sheriff's deputies, they responded to reports of a break-in, wherein they found themselves under fire — and were held at bay by the teenagers for more than 35 minutes.
"He's a little tiny, little boy and he got into a big mess," defense attorney Jeff Deen told the station on Wednesday. "He wasn't in control of his situation and he can't understand some of the things that we understand." O'Brien pleaded no contest to charges of burglary, criminal mischief and attempted murder of law enforcement officers, and was remanded to a maximum-risk assessment program followed by a conditional release.
A juvenile court judge sentenced him to a maximum risk commitment program and the sentence cannot exceed his 21st birthday. Meanwhile, the case against Jackson, who is now 15 years, is pending. A pre-trial hearing is set for April.
According to the prosecutors, the youngsters ran away from a children's home, broke and entered into the house in Volusia County, armed themselves before engaging in a shootout with the police.
Deen claimed his client has struggled with a lot of issues at a very young age, "He wasn't in control of his situation and he can't understand some of the things that we understand." The attorney also praised the way deputies handled themselves during the exchange of gunfire; the deputies said to be horrified of shooting at children. "When you hear those deputies, just heart-wrenching over what is going to happen and how perfectly they handled it," Deen said.
One of those deputies in the shootout, Sgt. Don Maxwell, was present during the courtroom hearing. "You have big heart, you have a long life ahead of you and know that I do forgive you, OK? I will say a prayer for you every day," Maxwell said.
