10-year-old boy arrested for playing with toy gun outdoors
A 10-year-old boy was arrested and charged for playing with a toy gun outside and pointing it at a passing car in Colorado, USA, it was revealed.
The incident happened last July, but Gavin’s mother, Stefanie, only spoke about it last Feb. 26, after the arrest and charge were finally expunged from her son’s record the day before.
“I’ve been waiting 217 days to be able to share our story,” she said in her Facebook post on the same day.
I've been waiting 217 days to be able to share our story…on July 24, 2019 my 10 year old son, Gavin, got arrested for…
Posted by Stefanie Magness Carpenter on Wednesday, February 26, 2020
She explained that Gavin and his friend were playing with “fake guns that were broken and not able to shoot any projectiles” at the time. When they pointed the toys at an oncoming truck, the driver became angry and immediately put his vehicle in reverse to confront them.
Authorities were later called to the scene, and the officers ended up arresting both boys. At the time, they were charged with menacing.
Stefanie said she only spoke about the incident recently because they wanted to wait until the charge and arrest were expunged from their record. She also pointed out that the process was not easy, citing that they had to hire an attorney and file for a diversion program to keep the case from going to court.
“Gavin had to complete community hours and a list of other requirements to successfully finish the program,” she noted.
She added that the experience had “affected [their] whole family immensely,” and left Gavin terrified of law enforcement.
While she admits that it is an “extremely hard” experience to write about, Stefanie made the post to inform other parents that it could also happen to “anyone with children.”
She also noted that she and her family “has been serving the United States as an Active Duty Army family for the past 18 years,” before recalling how she felt during the incident.
“To see your [10-year-old] son handcuffed, in the back of a cop car, in tears and scared to death is a vision I will never be able to erase out of my mind,” Stefanie said. “And the 100% helpless feeling I have felt throughout this entire process.”
“We are so relieved that this is all over with on paper, but unfortunately Gavin will deal with the mental repercussions the rest of his life,” she added. /ra
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