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The victim of the attempted carjacking says the minor was forced to pay only one-third of the losses
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The victim of the attempted carjacking says the minor was forced to pay only one-third of the losses

Eight months after being targeted by juveniles in Federal Hill, a Baltimore father says he hasn’t gotten justice.

On the day of St. Patrick, Val and his 8-year-old son were the victims of an attempted carjacking that was caught by surveillance near the corner of Wheeling and Light streets. Two teenagers were arrested and transported to Juvenile booking, according to Baltimore police.

But now Val says the court process has been a nightmare and has only left him frustrated with crime and case management.

“Even when they are identified and put through the system, justice is not done,” Val said.

According to the father, one of the two arrested minors, now 17 years old, pleaded guilty in court.

READ ALSO Teenager arrested after stolen car hits patrol vehicle and injures pedestrian

Val said the exact consequence the juvenile received remains unclear to him.

“It’s in their file, for this minor. A crime,” Val said. “And they potentially, we haven’t gotten any confirmation on that, but they may be placed on an ankle monitor.”

But most recently, Val said a restitution hearing he attended to address the costs of the crime left him stunned.

“The stolen items they were able to get away with, which were my keys to my vehicles, including the one they tried to steal. I have submitted all receipts including the out of pocket cost I had to pay to get new keys to operate my vehicle. Unfortunately, I was not healthy. It wasn’t given to me,” Val said.

Val shared the receipts with FOX45 News.

He said between the keys to the two vehicles and reprogramming costs he was looking at about $1,500.

Val said the judge ordered the juvenile to pay about a third of that, with no additional costs going to the juvenile suspect’s parent, who he added was present at the hearing.

READ ALSO Several elderly victims carjacked in northwest Baltimore, victim said

“$485.81,” Val said, when asked how much he was ordered to receive. “It was ordered against the minor that I don’t expect to pay. And even though the mother was also on the calls, there was no judgment against the mother or any responsibility on the father.”

The father said the second juvenile suspect charged in the case has also pleaded guilty in court, but it’s unclear what, if any, consequences he will face.

Val said he’s not sure if he’ll get any further backlash and questions about whether it’s worth taking more time away from work to sort it out.

“There is no justice. I am not made whole. I lost even more than that because I took more days off work. Thousands at this moment when I am the victim. It seems the system is the other way around. They seem to protect the perpetrators rather than the innocent victims and just your average Baltimorean. It’s really a shame.”

FOX45 News has reached out to the Department of Juvenile Services for comment.