Tag: eric tarpinian-jachym

President Donald Trump’s administration is taking aim at youth crime in the District. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro is harshly criticizing the D.C. Council for what she says is being soft on juvenile offenders.

Pirro’s remarks come as a key member of Congress is introducing legislation to take back some of the city’s home rule powers, especially when it comes to law enforcement.

She made her remarks at a Friday news conference announcing the arrest of two teenagers on murder charges in the killing of a congressional intern who was struck by stray bullets during a shooting in the nation’s capital.

“The D.C. Council has coddled young criminals for years,” Pirro said. “Everything we do, the D.C. Council is looking to change to benefit the criminal. They reject mandatory minimums that the law requires, they don’t force judges to follow the law. They have sometime called youth rehabilitation and incarceration reduction as well as record sealing.”

Pirro is calling on Congress to change the law so people as young as 14, who are charged with violent crimes, are prosecuted by her office instead of D.C. Family Court.

“The D.C. Council thinks that these kids need to be protected. They do not need to be protected. They need to be made accountable, and we need to be protected,” she said. “I am advocating and have advocated for jurisdiction over juveniles 14, 15, 16 and 17.”

Eric Tarpinian-Jachym, 21, of Granby, Massachusetts, was fatally shot on the night of June 30 near the Mt. Vernon Square Metro station in Northwest D.C. Both suspects in his killing — Kelvin Thomas Jr. and Jailen Lucas — are 17 years old but are being charged as adults with first-degree murder while armed, according to Pirro.

“It’s bad enough to be gunned down on any street, but to be gunned down in our nation’s capital is an outrage,” she said.

Tarpinian-Jachym was a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He was in D.C. to work as a summer intern in the office of Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas.

In July, the House observed a moment of silence after Estes paid tribute to Tarpinian-Jachym, calling him “a dedicated, and thoughtful and kind person who loved our country.”

House panel sets target on DC’s Home Rule Act

Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, a Kentucky Republican, says the committee will mark up a bill next Wednesday that strips away some of the city’s Home Rule Act, specifically when it comes to crime, criminal sentences, and police enforcement.

“President Trump and House Republicans are committed to restoring law and order in our nation’s capital city. Under President Trump’s decisive leadership, crime in D.C. is now falling at an unprecedented rate,” Comer said in a statement announcing the markup.

“The House Oversight Committee stands ready to back the president’s swift action by advancing comprehensive legislative reforms that empower District law enforcement and tackle the escalating juvenile crime crisis head-on. Every resident and visitor deserve to feel safe in our capital, and together with President Trump, the Committee will fulfill its constitutional duty to oversee District affairs and make D.C. safe again.”

Among other things, it changes the mandatory minimum sentence guidelines when it comes to first- and second-degree murder, rape, first-degree sexual abuse, kidnapping, carjacking, and first-degree burglary.

It would also lower the city’s definition of a youth from 25 to under 18, trying people that age as adults. Additionally, it would remove the discretion of judges to sentence youth offenders to sentences below the mandatory minimum.

Comer said the legislation would ensure a safe and prosperous D.C., adding that other looming changes to the city’s Home Rule Act could include:

• Establishing a uniform 60-day congressional review period for all D.C. Council legislation
• Eliminating the ability of the D.C. Council to extend emergency laws in perpetuity
• Providing a line-item veto of D.C. Acts in congressional resolutions of disapproval
• Prohibiting D.C. Council from withdrawing legislation from the congressional review process and passing substantially similar laws to legislation that was successfully disapproved by Congress
• Providing clear and concise expedited consideration procedures for resolutions of disapproval in both the House and Senate to avoid the window of congressional review closing before both chambers may act on the resolution

WTOP’s Scott Gelman contributed to this report.

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