Trial dates set for flash-mob teens

A Family Court judge yesterday set trial dates for 30 teenagers accused of participating in "flash mob" riots in Center City on Feb. 16 and March 3.

Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty also gave tongue-lashings to a number of teens and some of their parents who offered excuses for their children's behavior during the melees, which startled and frightened citizens in the heart of the city.

"Education is one of the only vaccines we have against violence," Dougherty said several times during the preliminary hearings, which stretched beyond two hours. All of the teens are facing felony counts of rioting and related charges.

The mayhem spilled into Macy's at 13th and Market streets, and a CVS drugstore. Video from both stores will be played during the teens' trials.

A 16-year-old girl pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy. Dougherty adjudicated her as a delinquent and had her taken into custody after hearing from a witness about how the girl, on Feb. 16, walked past police officers at 13th and Market and kicked a bleeding, unconscious 15-year-old boy in the head with her Timberland boot.

"To me, that was unspeakable," said witness Josaphine Hobbs, 62, who helped the boy.

The girl said the boy had first punched her in the face, knocking out a tooth. "I know what I did was wrong, but that was my reaction to what he did to me," she said.

Dougherty became agitated when the girl's mother protested that her daughter was not violent.

"I need you to stop defending her behavior, because it's wrong," he said. "If she's not afraid of the police, who does she fear?"

The 15 other teens involved in the Feb. 16 incident will be tried March 22, Dougherty ordered. Most of those teens had previously been released from custody, but six were re-arrested after the judge learned they had missed numerous days of school or committed other infractions.

One of the re-arrested teens - a 15-year-old boy who just became a father - was also caught with 12 small bags of marijuana, Assistant District Attorney Angel L. Flores said.

"You are walking a dangerous line, and I'm not going to permit you to continue to walk that line," Dougherty said.

The teens stood before the judge one at a time for brief hearings. All had attorneys and most had at least one parent or guardian present.

The 15 teens involved in the March riot will be tried March 23. While their parents were present, few of the defendants were in court because they are still in custody. The judge placed three on home detention, however, after hearing from them and parents.

One of the three, a student at the Southwest Accelerated Academy and a star basketball player for Bartram High School, professed his innocence and said several universities, including Notre Dame, have expressed interest in him.

"Everybody in the neighborhood is proud of me . . . I don't harm anybody, I just go to school," said the 6-foot-6 youth. He added that he would stay in the house and forgo playing ball if the judge let him go home.

That convinced Dougherty to release him without having to wear an ankle monitor.

"As the kids say, I'm 'feeling you.' I'm willing to take a gamble," the judge said.

One boy was returned to custody after Flores told the judge that he had been suspended from school for losing his temper with a teacher.

"I'm not going to tolerate this," Dougherty snapped. "Enjoy how those cuffs feel."

Another boy lost his freedom after Flores revealed that he had body-slammed a girl near the Center City Gallery Mall.

"I fear you walking our streets," the judge told the boy.

Dougherty told another boy that he was "a child of privilege" because he had a father who showed up in court with him.

"You better appreciate what you have," he told the boy, before releasing him from custody. "We are not going to have you end up on a T-shirt or in the Daily News or have your mother hysterical on television because 'My baby is dead.' "

Four adults arrested after the March 3 riot are scheduled for preliminary hearings on April 30 in Common Pleas Court.