Young Girl Arrested; Accused of Selling Drugs

Stacy Sager, Eyewitness News
NEW YORK (WABC) — New York City police have made a stunning arrest, a young girl from Queens is now charged with selling drugs. She was 12, Wednesday when she was arrested, but turned 13 Thursday. She’s accused of selling marijuana and crack cocaine, and was arrested in a major drug sweep. Even investigators were shocked by who they caught.

Disheartening they say because the 12-year-old girl who is now accused of dealing the drugs on Beach Channel Drive. Neighbors say she used to be more involved with activities like dance and jump rope at her local community center. “She’s actually a pretty nice young lady. I’m actually really, really, really surprised to hear that she’s involved in this activity,” said Rahiem Newkirk, Youth Program Coordinator. But no one is all that surprised that someone so young would turn to dealing drugs. At the Ocean Bay Houses, and the Ocean Village Apartments, residents who are too afraid to speak on camera tell Eyewitness News, gangs run everything and say some kids are as young as 7 and 8 when they start running guns and drugs for their older brothers and sisters.

“It’s sad, but any individual, young, old, if you selling drugs, period, to hurt others, it’s just wrong,” said Donald Zigler. Jeffrey Butts studies trends in juvenile crime and says keep in mind while the number of pre-teens committing all drug offenses is on the rise at an estimated 3,000 annually across the country. Compare that number with nearly 200,000 thousand teenagers between ages 13 and 17who’ve been charged in those crimes. “And it’s not an acute problem that’s suddenly growing in an unprecedented way. We’ve always had youth crime, and the bottom end of the age distribution has always frightened us,” said Butts.

Those at this community center are left to wonder could they somehow have offered one girl more.

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