In re D.T.
Annotate this CaseDefendant-appellant D.T. (minor) and the victim had been friends before the incident at issue in this appeal. D.T. was 13 years old, and the victim was 14 years old. D.T. and the victim used to play and joke with each other; they did not "rough play." On the day of the incident, the victim was trying to avoid minor and did not want to talk to him. He approached her anyway. When minor pulled at the hood on the victim’s sweater, she tried to pull away and told him to leave her alone. Instead of complying, minor retrieved a pocketknife from his pocket and, while still holding onto the victim’s clothing, opened it so she could see the blade. D.T. poked her multiple times in the upper back with the exposed blade of the knife. The knife felt "sharp" and "pointy," and the victim felt some pain. She did not think D.T. would hurt her, or that he was trying to cut or kill her. However, the victim was scared that an injury might occur because D.T. had a knife pressed to her back. A teacher approached, and D.T. stopped hitting her with the knife and went into class. The victim told both a teacher and a police officer about the incident. When speaking to the police officer, the victim was "visibly upset." On more than one occasion, she told the officer she was scared that minor might hurt her. The police officer noticed a red mark but no broken skin where the victim said she felt the most pain. The police officer escorted D.T. to the assistant principal’s office, where he produced the knife. The two-inch blade was sharp, and the tip of the knife was pointed. D.T acknowledged that the victim told him to stop and was "continually try[ing] to get away from him." According to D.T.'s statements to the police officer, the incident ended when the victim "pulled away and was able to run from him." He expressed remorse and said "he could have hurt" the victim. He also said that he and the victim had been "just playing," and that he did not intend to harm her. After the close of evidence at the jurisdictional hearing, the court found that "the knife in question [was] being used as a deadly weapon." It stated: "The knife blade was open. It was poked numerous times to the back of the victim in this case to the extent that it could have resulted in great bodily injury if more force were to be applied with the use of that knife." On appeal, D.T. argued insufficient evidence supported the allegation that he used a deadly weapon. He asked the Court of Appeal to reduce the allegation the court found true to simple assault. Because the Court of Appeal disagreed about the sufficiency of the evidence, it affirmed the adjudication order.
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