Local News

Youths involved in Flossmoor Fest fight face hearing process

Four youths are undergoing local adjudication hearings following their arrests for fighting at Flossmoor Fest on Sept. 8.
The four young males, all in their early teens, were arrested after a fight that led to one of the participants going to the hospital and a broken window at the Coldwell Banker real estate office.
Flossmoor Deputy Police Chief Tod Kamleiter said the youths were arrested shortly after the fight, which took place at about 6 p,m. on Sterling Avenue at the south end of the annual village street festival.
Kamleiter said the youths were in “the wrong place at the wrong time.” The fight took place close to scores of fest-goers and was recorded on security cameras in the downtown area.
All four youths were charged with public fighting, he said, adding that none are Flossmoor residents or attend local schools.
Kamleiter said the altercation started with name-calling on the basketball court at Western Avenue School, on the east side of the Metra tracks. The fight broke out after the youths moved to Sterling Avenue on the west side of the tracks.
Police were already on the scene and responded almost immediately to the fight. One boy was injured when he went through the window at Coldwell Banker. He received lacerations on his chest and was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Another boy was treated at the scene.
The three youths other than the boy hurt by window glass ran from the scene but were quickly located, Kamleiter said.
The four boys are going through a local hearing process rather than being sent to the juvenile court system.
Kamleiter said adjudication hearings are held in Flossmoor on the second Thursday night of the month. At that time, juveniles appear in front of a hearing officer in private. The hearing officer can only impose fines and cannot order restitution.
 “In some cases the hearing officer will impose a fine or monetary judgment and suspend the fine for a period of time to monitor for future behavior and then vacate the fine if there are no other contacts with the defendant,” he said.
 
Under the system, he said, youths who successfully meet the terms of the adjudication have no record inside the court system. 
 

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