Lawyers for 10-year-old Florida kid who was perp-walked for school shooting threat want raps dropped
Lawyers for the 10-year-old Florida boy who was perp-walked for allegedly making a school shooting threat following the Uvalde massacre will try to get his charges tossed at a Monday hearing.
Daniel Marquez’s lawyers said they will file a motion to dismiss the felony charge for making a written threat to conduct a school shooting, news station WESH reported.
Marquez made national headlines in May after the Lee County Sheriff’s Office marched him from their station house to an awaiting police car in front of media crews after his arrest.
The child allegedly texted a friend that he had “scammed” a friend out of a large sum of money and posted a stock image of guns alongside the claim. He later told the friend to “get ready for water day” — a school-sponsored event, officials said.
Lee County Sheriff Lee Marceno and local prosecutors interpreted the messages as a clear threat to Marquez’s Cape Coral elementary school.
But his father, army vet Dereck Marquez, asserts that the texts were misinterpreted and that the “water day” reference was not connected to the preceding messages.
Marquez’s arrest came in the tense days following the Uvalde, Texas, massacre that claimed the lives of 19 children and two teachers.
“He said that he obtained a bazillion dollars and said he bought this and showed an image of guns because in his mind guns are expensive,” the father told WESH ahead of his son’s Monday court hearing.
Marquez said the boy was traumatized after spending two weeks in a juvenile facility following his arrest and said Marceno highlighted the case for notoriety.
But Marceno has staunchly stood by the arrest and its publicizing, arguing that the boy made a clear threat that required clear repercussions.
“As sheriff, the safety and security of our students and schools in Lee County has been my top priority,” he told The Post last month. “We act immediately to investigate any and all threats against our students or schools.”
Immediately after the May bust, Marceno tweeted that Marquez’s actions could not be tolerated.
“Right now is not the time to act like a little delinquent,” he posted. “It’s not funny. This child made a fake threat, and now he’s experiencing real consequences.”
Marquez’s defense is being handled by the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.
“Any concerns that are reported to law enforcement should be investigated but that doesn’t justify a moral panic or running over the rights of a 10-year-old child,” Letitia Kim, managing director of FAIR’s legal team, told WESH.
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