Page 44 of Beau

“Yes,” Beau confirmed, his expression stern. “There’s no minimum age specified in the Juvenile Code for committing a crime. Once a person turns eighteen, they are considered an adult in the court’s jurisdiction. So, since you’re only sixteen, you’d be charged as a juvenile and will go to juvenile detention.”

Beau watched as Donnie’s eyes widened in realization and fear. But before he could say anything else, Beau’s attention was drawn to Aaron Simpson, Donnie’s father, who was now standing next to them.

“Dad?”

“I have no say in this, Donnie,” Aaron said firmly. “You made a mistake and now you have to face the consequences. I can’t save you from them.” He sighed again. “Why did you think it was okay to steal from someone? We raised you better than that. I’m extremely disappointed in you.” He shook his head. “I can’t imagine how your mother will take this.”

Donnie clenched his jaw tightly in response to his father’s words, clearly struggling with a mix of emotions. But Beau was not about to let him off the hook. He needed to learn a lesson.

“Put your hands behind your back,” Beau commanded, holding out a pair of handcuffs.

“No,” Donnie refused, his rebellious nature coming to the surface again.

Beau exhaled loudly, growing more frustrated by the minute. “You’re not getting out of this; I’m taking you into custody one way or another, so make it easy on yourself.”

“Do you really need to use handcuffs, Agent?” Aaron questioned, trying to intervene on his son’s behalf.

“Yes, sir,” Beau replied firmly.

“What’s he looking at for punishment?”

“A person convicted of the theft of any commonly domesticated hoofed animal will be fined an amount of not less than five thousand dollars or more than fifty thousand or be imprisoned in a state prison for a term not to exceed ten years, or both. Considering Donnie is a minor, he’ll be sent to juvenile detention. Depending on the outcome of the case, if he’s kept in juvie until he turns eighteen, he would then be sent to prison since he would be an adult.”

“Dad, if you let him take me away, I will never speak to you again!” Donnie yelled in desperation.

“Son, I’m not letting him do anything. He’s just doing his job,” Aaron gritted out through clenched teeth. “You stole a horse.”

“Not only that, but your truck was used in the theft, Mr. Simpson, so it will be confiscated, and you’ll lose it. A tow truck will pick it up later today.”

“Damn it, Donnie,” Aaron Simpson shouted.

Donnie glared at Beau with defiance and entitlement written all over his face, believing that his father could get him out of any trouble he got into because he was a lawyer.

“Turn around and put your hands behind your—” Beau ordered, but before he could finish speaking, Donnie swung a fist and hit him on the chin.

Beau stumbled back a step, caught off guard by the unexpected blow. But he quickly straightened up and took hold of Donnie’s arm, spinning him around and pushing him against the wall, then he snapped on the handcuffs.

“Now you’ve added assaulting an officer to the charge,” Beau growled as he led the boy out the door, toward his truck. As they approached it, he saw tears streaming down Donnie’s cheeks and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy for the troubled boy. But what he did was wrong, and he needed to face the consequences.

“I’ll get his jacket,” Aaron Simpson said, then looked at Donnie. “Damn it, Donnie. From the frying pan into the fire. You don’t hit someone in law enforcement. You might have put the last nail in your coffin.”

“You can follow me to the detention center if you’d like,” Beau offered, turning to Donnie’s father.

“I’ll be there later. I think a few hours in jail will make him realize what a mistake he made,” Aaron replied with a heavy sigh, as he draped Donnie’s coat over his shoulders.

Beau nodded in understanding before walking out the door. He opened the back door of his truck and had Donnie climb in, then he put the seatbelt on him. Once Beau got into his truck, he drove off toward the Clifton Juvenile Detention Center. It was never easy arresting someone, especially a troubled teenager like Donnie, but it was part of his job as an agent. Hopefully, this experience will teach Donnie the importance of making responsible choices.

Beau glanced into the rearview mirror to see Donnie staring out the window with tears rolling down his cheeks.

“If you tell me where the horse is, I’ll drop the assault charge,” Beau said, glancing into the mirror again, but the kid didn’t say a word, making Beau blow out a frustrated breath. He wasn’t sure how he would get him to talk.

“I hope you realize how much trouble you’re in. I’m taking you straight to juvie, so maybe you can do some thinking over the weekend until you see a judge. You might have ruined your life by doing something so fucking stupid.”

“It was just a stupid horse!” Donnie shouted.

Beau pulled his truck onto the berm and turned to look at him.

“It doesn’t matter what you stole. Stealing livestock is a serious crime. Just because it’s an animal doesn’t make it any less of a crime. You heard what I told your dad about rustling. And I’m going to make sure you face the consequences of your actions. You and your buddies will all be in juvie.”

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