Boy in shootout with deputies found guilty, committed to juvenile facility, then probation

A 13-year-old boy, thin, slight and not much taller than the courtroom podium, stood before a judge on Wednesday and entered a plea of no contest to a charge of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer.

The charge stems from a shootout with deputies last summer. The boy and a teenage girl had run away from the Florida United Methodist Children’s Home in Enterprise on June 1. They then broke into a house and armed themselves with guns they found inside, according to reports.

When Volusia County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived, the boy and the girl shot at deputies, who initially held their fire, but later shot the girl after she came out of the house with a firearm, according to reports.

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The News-Journal is not identifying the boy, because he has been charged in juvenile court.

The girl, Nicole Jackson-Maldonado, who has since turned 15, was charged in adult court with attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer (firearm), burglary of a dwelling while armed, and criminal mischief causing damage of $1,000 or more. She is being held without bond at the Volusia County Branch Jail.

The boy on Wednesday entered the no contest plea to the same three charges, but in juvenile court at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand.

Circuit Judge Linda Gaustad asked him if he understood his rights, whether he had enough time to speak to his attorney and whether he was satisfied with his attorney.

In a soft voice, the boy answered yes to each question.

Gaustad adjudicated the boy guilty and sentenced him to a maximum-risk commitment program.

Generally, youths spend 18 to 36 months at a facility for such a program depending on how they respond to treatment.

When the boy leaves the facility he will be on conditional release, a juvenile version of probation.

The judge reserved ruling on restitution to pay for the damages to the house. Deen asked that the girl also be responsible for restitution.

Near the end of the hearing, Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Don Maxwell stood up and spoke to the boy.

During the shooting, Maxwell had taken cover as the boy and the girl shot at deputies, bullets striking the tree Maxwell stood behind, according to reports.

On Wednesday, Maxwell looked toward the boy and told him he was forgiven.

“I remember you. I forgive you. I challenge you to be better,” Maxwell said. “I want to see you one day be the person … the person that I know you can be. You have a big heart. You have a long life ahead of you. And I will say a prayer for you every day.”

Afterward, the boy was fingerprinted and provided a DNA sample.

Jeff Deen was the boy’s defense attorney. Deen has defended other clients who have been in the news, including Luis Toledo, a Deltona gang member who was convicted of killing his wife and her two children. He was sentenced to three consecutive life terms.

“He's learned a lot from this,” Deen said about the boy. “He apologizes for everything that happened. He is sorry for everything that occurred.”

Deen thanked Maxwell and praised law enforcement and first responders for avoiding “an unmitigated tragedy” when they confronted the two children. He also thanked Assistant State Attorney Kristin dePaula, who prosecuted the case and the judge.

Deen, who became emotional at times, said that the boy had no one to call, not even family, while in detention. Deen said he asked his office if anyone was available to take calls from the boy and Deen said he got about 15 volunteers.

The shootout

On June 1, Jackson-Maldonado got into an argument with staff at the Florida United Methodist Children's Home in Enterprise where she was living. It all started, according to a report, because she wanted to go outside and catch lizards.

Jackson-Maldonado, then 14, and the boy, then 12, ended up breaking into a house and arming themselves with an AK-47, a 12-gauge shotgun and a pistol they found inside, according to reports.

When Volusia County Sheriff's Office deputies surrounded the house, Jackson-Maldonado and the boy started shooting at the deputies, reports stated.

Deputies initially held their fire. But in the end, deputies shot Jackson-Maldonado after they said she pointed a shotgun or rifle at them, according to reports. At least one deputy said he believed she fired the weapon. The boy surrendered and was not shot.

Jackson-Maldonado was also accused in April before the shootout of setting fires in vacant lots in Palm Coast, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. One of the fires threatened a house and damaged a fence, the reports stated. She was not charged as an adult in that case.

Jackson-Maldonado has a hearing set for Aug. 6 before Circuit Judge Judge Elizabeth Blackburn.

After the hearing on Wednesday, Maxwell declined to comment on whether Jackson-Maldonado should receive the same outcome in her case, saying he could not comment since it was still open.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida teen in shootout with deputies committed to juvenile facility