Teens face adult charges in Palm Bay burglary case

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A group of Brevard County teens are facing adult charges in connection to a Palm Bay burglary case.

Police said all of the suspects have had run-ins with the law before. But this time, a conviction could mean state prison.

Kyree Johnson, Deonte Jones, Jamal Moreland and Rahkwon Oquendo were arrested Feb. 28 on burglary charges in Palm Bay.

Police told Channel 9 at the time that they were familiar with the teens, including Jones, who had been arrested eight days earlier by Melbourne police after a pursuit there ended in his violent crash.

Wednesday afternoon Jones asked a judge about being released with a GPS monitor.

"No. I saw that apparently that would have been available, possibly, if you were treated as a juvenile, but you're treated as an adult right now Mr. Jones," said the judge.
This isn't kiddie court anymore.

A prosecutor told the judge that the last time Jones was released from custody he was arrested again.

"We determined the nature of the offense and the circumstances around the crime justified him being charged as an adult," said Gary Beatty, assistant state attorney.

That means Jones and his co-defendants face up to one year in jail for resisting arrest, up to five years in prison for grand theft and a maximum of 15 years in prison if they're convicted on a charge of burglary of a dwelling. Those are far more than the maximums they would have faced in juvenile court.

Jones was still in custody Wednesday evening on a $17,500 bond.

WFTV