The Orlando Sentinel
PALM BAY, Fla. - A Brevard County judge let a 17-year-old shooting suspect go home Saturday on house arrest, and the Palm Bay police are not pleased.
Chief Bill Berger was so perturbed Saturday that he urged the judge to keep a second teenage suspect in the case behind bars.
“We hope this judge will do the right thing and at least keep this one locked up,” Berger said in a statement. “Both of these individuals pose a serious threat to public safety, and these judges need to be more responsible.”
Police typically remain silent on such legal issues.
Palm Bay police arrested Jesse Trautman, 17, and Kyle Lambert during the weekend after witnesses said the teens were involved in a shooting at Fred Lee Park.
Police say the two met at the park, hours after Lambert had a fight at Palm Bay High School. They walked up to a group of about 10 to 15 teens, and Trautman passed a gun to Lambert, who charged at the group.
Authorities said Lambert fired into the air, then pointed the gun at someone and shot several times across a field.
The shots sailed toward houses at the edge of the park, park’s perimeter, near a playground and where people were playing football and tennis, police said.
Police later arrested the teens but did not find the gun.
Brevard County Judge Kelly McKibben released Trautman during the weekend, but Lambert appears in court on attempted murder charges today at 9 a.m.
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