A 13-year-old runaway who got into a shootout with Florida deputies last year, along with a female pal, pleaded no contest Wednesday and was sentenced to a juvenile facility.
Travis O’Brien was just 12 when he and then-14-year-old Nicole Jackson holed up in a Volusia County house in June after breaking out of a local group home and opened fire on cops with a shotgun and an AK-47.
“He’s a little tiny, little boy and he got into a big mess,” defense attorney Jeff Deen told the station 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 conditional release.
The sentence cannot exceed his 21st birthday, the outlet reported.
The case against Jackson, now 15, is pending.
The pint-sized Bonnie and Clyde busted out of the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home and broke into an empty house in nearby Enterprise on June 1.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a break-in and found themselves under fire, and were held at bay by the youngsters for more than 35 minutes.
“They’re shooting on me,” one deputy is heard saying on viral video of the incident. “Hold the air. I’m code 4. She’s re-racking a round inside the shotgun!”
“Let’s not engage them anymore,” the dispatcher is heard responding. “Let’s not challenge them.”
Jackson is heard shrieking on the footage after getting hit with return fire, and both runaways were taken into custody.
Last year, a local couple offered to adopt Jackson.
Lock there @$$e$ up with hardened criminals!!!!
Teacher them a lesson on what crime pays