Juvenile judge: Teen crime up in Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - A lot of feedback surrounding the murder of Wendy Fisher has circled around the age of the alleged shooter.

The 40-year-old mother of two was shot after allegedly yelling at a car to slow down on Racine Avenue, Saturday.

Police arrested Trayon Washington, 17, Wednesday and charged the teen with murder.

FOX10 spoke with Juvenile Court Judge Edmond Naman about teen crime in Mobile. 

“As a juvenile judge, that just really breaks my heart. And it makes me think, ‘What could we have done?  What could we have done to keep this from happening?’”

Naman said he saw Trayon Washington in his juvenile court room Thursday morning for previous crimes.

District Attorney Ashley Rich said the teen left his murder bond hearing to answer to his juvenile crimes.

Naman said violent teen crime has been trending recently in Mobile.

“Normally, it's slow in the summertime,” said Naman. “Our crime usually goes down. But in the last few weeks, yes indeed, I mean you can't ignore it. We've had an increase in violent crime.”

This month alone, FOX10 has reported on violent teenage crime, including a 15-year-old accused of shooting his 16-year-old girlfriend in the face.

This week, 16-year-old Kendall Howard was also arrested and charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting another teen on Althea drive.

Judge Naman said the problem is often a lack of involvement, even from parents who have already been ordered by the courts to take parenting classes.

“We ordered 30 to come last night, and nine came,” he said. “Today, there are 21 warrants for the arrest of those parents that are not cooperating, and that is the way that we do business and will continue to do business.”

Naman said the courts are making more efforts to hold parents accountable for the actions of their children.

He said the community needs to ban together to reverse teen crime.

To join youth mentorship programs and find ways to fight teen violence, click here.