Teen Charged With Murder of British Tourists Screened for Public Risk Nine Days Earlier

On April 16, a pair of British tourists were shot down in Newtown, Fla. The next day, 16-year-old Shawn Tyson was arrested on murder charges.

It was his second arrest this month. Less than two weeks earlier, he had been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

During both arrests, Tyson was screened by the Sarasota County Juvenile Assessment Center for his risk to public safety. The resulting document -- called a "detention risk assessment instrument" -- was presented to a judge at Tyson's first court appearance, which took place within 24 hours of his April 7 arrest.

The risk assessment instrument, used by the Juvenile Assessment Center for all arrested minors, gives points for a variety of factors, such as involvement in "violent second-degree felonies" or "any third-degree felony involving the use or possession of a firearm." A score of 12 or more points total would require "secure detention," probably in the Manatee Juvenile Regional Detention Center in Bradenton.

Tyson was first arrested because he was suspected of shooting a .38-caliber revolver into an occupied vehicle, which should have qualified him for 22 points on the risk assessment. However, it's unknown how many points, if any, he received, and the judge released Tyson back to the custody of his mother. Nine days later, he was back in detention -- this time accused of murdering British tourists James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24.

He remains in custody.

Tyson's "detention risk assessment instrument" is locked under court seal while the murder investigation continues, and the names of the judge and evaluator are similarly kept secret under seal.

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In Florida, minors do not go to jail unless they are prosecuted as adults. If convicted of a crime and considered a threat to public safety, minors can be sentenced to a residential program. Some are detained in high-security facilities. Others are sent to camps in remote parts of the state. Still others are released into community-based programs.

Regardless of destination, all are evaluated using the "Positive Achievement Change Tool," said Samadhi Jones, who is with the Department of Juvenile Justice in Tallahassee. "It determines what type of intervention the child needs."

They are not released from the program until they complete the "specific program requirements" required by their individual "change tool." At that point, the judge decides whether the minor should go free.

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Teen Charged With Murdering Tourists Had Been Screened for Risk Days Earlier

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