Friend walked in on a burglary.

[Clint45]

It's a judgement call he needed to make, and I'm sure he felt he was doing the right thing. Dealing with a 13 year old who walked through an unlocked door and cries when he's caught is a bit different from walking in on a 17 year old gang member who kicked the door off its hinges or crawled through a 2nd floor window. Apparently they didn't hurt the dog or trash the place. He thought calling the parents was a good idea, but it turned out that one of the parents was a bigger shitbag than his kid. Maybe the other parent will beat the hell out of his own kid and tell him not to hang out with shitbag junior anymore. Little hope for shitbag junior, but maybe the other kid will turn his life around and choose not to go down that path.

Pressing felony charges SEEMS like the right thing to do . . . but if they're 13 year olds who live on the same block as you, that complicates things a bit. Now instead of being the white guy who threw two junior high kids in juvie for being stupid, he's the guy who COULD'VE pressed charges but didn't. This will make the kids' families, friends, and associates hate him less, and be less likely to do things to his house and vehicles in the future. Besides, the felony burglary probably would've been reduced to misdemeanor criminal trespass with no jail time and they'd just need to see a probation officer once a month and have their Youthful Offender record sealed. If he likes the house and wants to keep living in that neighborhood, I can understand why he did what he did. NOW he just needs to lock his fucking doors when he leaves the house and let his dog out of the kennel crate.