State Attorney R.J. Larizza on Wednesday charged 15-year-old Junior Bishop as an adult for his role in the alleged kidnapping and torture of an 11-year-old boy by a sexual offender in late December. The child victim had been reported missing in St. Johns County.
Bishop, 15, faces charges of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and fleeing and eluding at reckless speed, causing injury, both first-degree felonies, each with a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison if Bishop is convicted. He also faces a third-degree felony charge of grand theft and three misdemeanor charges.
He is being held on $250,000 bond following his first appearance before a judge this morning, following the State Attorney’s filing.
Bishop was arrested on Dec. 31 along with Darnell Hairston, 60. The State Attorney’s Office on Wednesday filed an armed kidnapping charge against Hairston, a felony punishable by life in prison, and charges of aggravated child abuse and armed robbery, both first-degree felonies, and battery by strangulation, a third-degree felony. He’s being held without bond at the Flagler County jail.
The alleged child victim told authorities he had been lured to an area in isolated Flagler Estates, the expanse of nowhere at the northwest corner of the county, where he was choked, tied up, muzzled with duct tape and threatened with weapons before being driven around and forced to stay on a pickup’s floorboard.
Bishop and Hairston were in the pickup when Bishop was pulled over by a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy who’d gotten a report of a sighting of the missing boy. Bishop fled in the pickup as deputies were chasing Hairston on foot. Bishop had allegedly accelerated away from the scene, “almost striking deputies,” according to his arrest report, then drove down U.S. 1 toward Bunnell.
When a deputy spotted Bishop driving the white pickup on Garden Street in Bunnell, Bishop accelerated and fled. A pursuit was authorized. Bishop swerved in and out of traffic recklessly while traveling west on State Road 100 for almost 8 miles.
The report details what allegedly took place: “Deputy Carter attempted to maneuver around Junior. Deputy Carter drove his marked agency patrol vehicle (with lights and sirens activated) around Junior and reentered the westbound lane of travel in front of Junior. Junior maneuvered the white pickup truck around Deputy Carter and entered the eastbound lane of travel. While driving at a high rate of speed in the eastbound lane, Junior sped the car up alongside of Deputy Carter’s vehicle and then appeared to drastically steer the vehicle into Deputy Carter’s rear driver’s side area of his marked agency vehicle in a successful effort to intentionally strike the marked law enforcement vehicle. As a result, a collision occurred. Deputies located the vehicle far into the wood line after it rolled multiple times and became disabled after landing on its roof. Junior complied with commands and was taken into custody by deputies.”
As a juvenile offender, Bishop was charged last June with armed burglary, larceny and trespassing. The burglary charge was dropped and he was sentenced to probation on the other two counts as part of a plea. He was on probation at the time of his December arrest, and was required to abide by a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. curfew, according to his juvenile detention record.
That Bishop was charged as an adult does not mean that, should he be convicted on any of the charges, he’s locked into an adult sentence. Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols would have the discretion to impose juvenile sanctions or youthful offender sanctions, though the State Attorney’s Office will likely push for adult sanctions. Bishop is scheduled for arraignment before Nichols on Feb. 17, the same morning Hairston is arraigned.
Hairston and Bishop previously lived on Harold Street and Joseph Street, respectively, in Hastings, in St. Johns County, not far from Flagler Estates.
Richard Fay says
This young person may be a victim of human trafficking. A consultation with the “Freedom 7 Human Trafficking Task Force” would shed some light on this young persons circumstances. He did a horrible thing. He quite possibly is a victim who experienced horrible things at the hands of adults over his short lifespan. The man who kept him most likely groomed him and twisted reality to suit his needs as adult exploiting a young child. This child now finds himself in a legal system that may not have the capacity to effectively sort out and understand the complex relationship(s) this child was trapped in.
JimboXYZ says
Let’s not empower the track record the 15 year old Bishop has. He was a felon long before he was a kidnapper for the burglaries & everything else. Got his mulligan as a boo hoo he’s just a little kid, for being that neighborhood asshole.
“As a juvenile offender, Bishop was charged last June with armed burglary, larceny and trespassing. The burglary charge was dropped and he was sentenced to probation on the other two counts as part of a plea.”
The 60 year old, he’s just the village idiot and unfortunate the 11 year old was his victim. Give that 60 year old his lifetime prison sentence & let the inmates determine how long of a sentence life in prison really is for his part in the kidnapping & any other crime(s).
Skibum says
Big yawn… this “child” as you called him, already had multiple opportunities to inform criminal justice officials or his previous defense attorney for his armed burglary case that his criminal behavior was somehow influence by being around and/or groomed by the older sex offender, Hairston. He was given a huge break on that burglary case, and placed on probation.
Instead of adhering to the conditions of his probation, he intentionally violated it and involved himself in more, very serious felonies, including aggravated assault on law enforcement with the stolen truck that he was fleeing in. So give all of us a break with the sad, sad narrative that he is just a misunderstood “child” who needs a mentor to hug him and tell him he is a good person and it will all be okay… this kid is a CRIMINAL, with a criminal mind, no regard for the law, and willingly involved himself in holding the 11-year old against his will.
This “child” had the wherewithal and intention to do whatever necessary to flee from law enforcement, and if you took the time to view the video when he ran to the truck and took off from the traffic stop while deputies were in the middle of the traffic lane attempting to handcuff Hairston, you would have seen this “child” nearly run over one of the deputies, just missing his body on the ground as the 15-year old sped off.
This “child” is a danger to society and needs to be convicted as an adult and sentenced to prison for what he did, NOT coddled by the criminal justice system any more or the only message he will have learned loud and clear is that there are hardly any consequences for whatever crimes he wishes to commit in the future… because there WILL undoubtably be more criminal behavior in his future in my opinion. You can take that to the bank.
Joe D says
Aside from the SERIOUSNESS of the events and the charges involved (and the trauma to the younger victim)…Explain to me what a 15 year old is doing “living with” a convicted sex offender. Unless there are very specific circumstances that doesn’t restrict the sex offender adult from living with an under 18 year old child, near parks, schools, daycare centers ….why was this 15 year old in the care of this sex offender? Where are his parents or legal guardians? Is this “child” under the supervision of local social service agencies ( ie: receiving government assistance funds), and on someone’s CASE LOAD? Is he registered for school…at 15 he SHOULD BE… (or is he being “home schooled” for ~$8000 In taxpayers money )? SOME ADULT is legally responsible for this 15 year old! It can’t be, or in reality SHOULDN’T BE…legal guardianship by the sex offender.
I agree with the first commenter above, the 15 year old may be as much of a victim of the sex offender as the younger kidnapped victim. There are lots of unanswered questions in this horrendous case.
Joe D says
As a correction to my earlier comment, it appears the 15 year old and the sex offender were not living at the same address…However it does not change my other concerns about the USUAL sex offender restrictions on contact with under 18 year olds, and restricting from areas that children frequent, along with my questions about school attendance and legal guardianship of the 15 year old.