Rayne Police Chief Carroll Stelly says his city is facing a calamitous time as it relates to juvenile criminal activity.

"During my 26 years as a police officer, I have watched a massive derogation of child supervision by their parents," Stelly says. "Today, we are facing a criminal justice crisis with violent juvenile criminal activity."

The statement came in a Thursday press release regarding the June 5 arrest of three teenagers on felony charges.

It requires mothers and fathers to raise their children in a responsible and respectful manner.

The incident involved a police response to a "fight in progress involving weapons" call at the 300 block of Section Street. Officers there discovered a 15- and 16-year-old, along with 17-year-old Calvin Minix, had threatened to shoot someone in that area and were wielding two pistols.

Minix tried to flee and dropped "several packets" of weed in the process. Thirty-five-year-old Trudy Miller was then arrested after she tried discretely to escape the situation with Minix's marijuana. Both were charged for possessing marijuana, and Minix was additionally charged with illegally carrying a weapon, resisting an officer and obstruction of justice.

The unnamed minors were charged with aggravated assault and illegal possession of a handgun by a juvenile. Because they're underage, they've been released to a "concerned adult" until it's their day in court.

Stelly says he's trying to speed up that process.

"I am working closely with the Acadia Parish District Attorney’s Office in effort to expedite these juveniles incarceration for these violent crimes," he says, adding that the "crisis" is beyond the police department's control.

"It requires mothers and fathers to raise their children in a responsible and respectful manner," Stelly suggests. "Until then, we will be required to arrest and prosecute these juveniles for violent crimes that historically have been reserved for the hardened adult criminals.”

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