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Syracuse Police note increase in juvenile crime after afternoon robbery at Destiny USA

US Embassy Canada
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Wikimedia Commons

Syracuse Police hope to track down the young boy who robbed Juli Boeheim outside a busy Destiny USA mall entrance on Tuesday, March 1.

Juli Boeheim – robbed at gunpoint for her purse – is the co-founder of the Jim and Juli Boeheim Foundation and the wife of SU Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim.

According to police reports, Juli Boeheim visited Destiny USA on Tuesday afternoon and was approached by a young male.

“The victim had pulled into the parking lot, was approached by a juvenile male. A conversation had ensued while the victim was in her car. The suspect was on the outside of the car,” SPD Lieutenant Matt Malinowski said. “Pretty early on in that conversation the suspect had displayed a handgun, and then reached inside and grabbed the purse and fled.”   

Though a news report mentioned Boeheim left uninjured, Malinowski is disturbed a young person was brave enough to carry out a robbery in broad daylight, with two accomplices in a nearby stolen vehicle. An increase in juvenile crimes seems to be a part of an ongoing trend ever since the change in state bail reform laws, Malinowski said.

“We have seen cases where burglaries have been committed by juveniles ten plus times, and they still weren’t locked up. Or we just had a recent case of a juvenile that was just caught with a handgun, and he was arrested for handgun possession ten days earlier.”

Malinowski said adult repeat offenders are being released before their next court date; therefore, enabling them to commit more crimes. He suggested being aware of your surroundings if you go to the mall and go travel in pairs if possible. Last month, a gun was fired in a men’s bathroom. Destiny USA did was unresponsive to our request for an interview.

John Smith has been waking up WAER listeners for a long time as our Local Co-Host of Morning Edition with timely news and information, working alongside student Sportscasters from the Newhouse School.