Baltimore, Maryland – Donna Tallent, a 72-year-old woman, expressed her disappointment at the sentence given to a juvenile involved in a violent carjacking incident. The victim described the punishment as “a slap on the wrist,” feeling that it did not match the severity of the crime.
In November, surveillance footage captured the moment when two teenage boys assaulted Tallent with a gun and stole her car from her Baltimore County residence. Despite the traumatic experience, Tallent waited weeks for her injuries to heal before justice was served.
One of the suspects, a 15-year-old, was found guilty of the unauthorized use of a handgun by a magistrate in juvenile court. However, several other charges related to the carjacking were dismissed due to lack of evidence linking him to the theft.
Tallent expressed frustration at the inability to definitively prove that the suspect had stolen her car, despite key evidence like the presence of his phone and keys in the vehicle. The sentence handed down included five months of probation, ankle monitoring for one month, 50 hours of community service, and a curfew from 6 PM to 6 AM.
The victim emphasized that the impact of the crime lingered long after the incident, affecting her daily life and requiring therapy for dizziness. As the case of the second suspect awaits trial, Tallent urged for stricter consequences for young offenders to prevent future criminal behavior.
While the 16-year-old suspect faces charges as an adult with a trial scheduled for June, his attorney is pursuing to have the case transferred back to juvenile court. A hearing on this matter is set for May, reflecting the ongoing legal complexities surrounding the case.