In re J.T. CA1/1

BACKGROUND

On a July 2014 morning, J.T., then 14 years old, and another juvenile confronted a mother and her son in Richmond. J.T. yelled at the boy, “ ‘Empty out your pockets!’ ” and then started to “punch [him] in the chest numerous times” before reaching into his pockets and removing $40. The boy fell to the ground, and J.T. “kick[ed] him two more times in the ribs and nose.” As J.T. was confronting the boy, his cohort “punch[ed the mother] about four times in the stomach and kick[ed] her two more times in her thighs” before grabbing her cellphone. Minor and his friend then fled the scene. Months later, the two victims identified J.T. as one of the assailants, and he was detained. The Contra Costa County District Attorney filed a Welfare and Institutions Code section 602 petition alleging two counts of second degree robbery along with two criminal street gang enhancements (Pen. Code, §§ 211, 212.5, subd. (c), 186.22, subd. (b)(1)).2 During an interview with probation, J.T. initially stated he “associates with gang members” and in a subsequent interview, admitted to being a Sureño gang member. He pleaded no contest to one count of second degree robbery, and the juvenile court…