Feds now involved in case of child armed robbery suspect
PORTLAND, Ore. - A 34-year-old father whose son is one of two boys accused of being involved in an attempted armed robbery is now facing a federal firearms charge.
The trouble for Joseph Charlton began on Dec. 8 when investigators say two young boys - a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old - approached a woman in the parking lot of a church and tried to steal her truck.
Investigators say when the victim, Amy Garrett, refused, the two boys demanded she had over her wallet and phone. Garrett said the 11-year-old boy, who was holding the gun, threatened her.
"He said it was fully loaded and cocked and ready to go," Garrett said. "He told me he was going to blow my brains out if I didn't give him anything."
The boys didn't get anything from the woman and when police got there they tried to run away. But officers caught up to them and said they found a cocked and loaded handgun in the 11-year-old boy's pocket.
A few days later, the boy's father, Joseph Charlton, spoke to KATU and said he was trying to get his son on the right path and that his boy had gotten the gun from a "troublemaker in the neighborhood."
But investigators believe the gun actually came from the boy's home and they arrested Charlton on a city ordinance that prohibits adults from leaving an unsecured firearm where a minor can get to it. The ordinance was one of several that were put into place in 2010 with the goal of curbing gun violence in Portland and this was the first time it was used.
This week, the United States Attorney's Office in Oregon announced that they had filed a federal charge in connection with what happened.
Charlton, who has a criminal record for multiple assaults and who spent three years behind bars (from 2002 to 2005) is prohibited from possessing firearms because he has a felony conviction on his record.
In light of that, the United States Attorney's Office in Oregon filed a charge of felon in possession of a firearm against Charlton, which means he could spend up to 10 years in prison.
Charlton remains in local custody while he awaits a court date on the federal charge.
YES!!!! :D the feds are FINALLY part of this!!
Kudos to the local authorities for arresting him on the local ordinance and kudos to the federal authorities for taking this serious and filing charges.Â
I used to work with this guy, he has a big problem with not telling the truth. Can't trust him at all. I'm sure felony with weapons will not be the only charge, if he is asked to speak. Perjury will also be added to his offense.
He sure looks angry in his eyes at his circumstance.
I really wish the best to this failboat's son. I mean that. I hope a real man sits him down and make it clear to him that his biological father is sadly something he should consider to not exist.Â
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I wrote my own father off a long time ago, and life only got better and better every year.  When your parents suck at being parents, you're truly better off without them.
Good news, put him away for good, he's done enormous damage to his community and his children. I hope it's not too late for his son.
 This  guy  was  the guy that was trying to get me   back in the summer time  to be put in jail for something i did not do   and   look at  who is in jail    i hope  they  slam him with the  max   and hope he stays in there as well  Â
Heh-heh-heh. Felon with a firearm. Bye!
I remember when this clown said "my son got the gun from a neighborhood troublemaker". Â I guess he was right. Â Now let's let the full weight of the justice system come down on him!!!
It's nice to see how well gun control laws work.
 @hankhandsome Yeah, I know, huh? The very fact that this guy is in jail proves how unfair they are.
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Oh... wait...
 @hankhandsome It will be nice to see this POS serve ten years for breaking them. Are you wishing they didn't have the laws, i.e. a reason to put this scum behind bars, and away from that adorable future felon he's been raising?
 @badcat  @hankhandsome This is exactly the way to promote gun safety. Start putting people in prison who are too stupid to secure them. No need to punish everyone, just the ignorant.
Oh Man that's funny! Jr.'s stupidity sends dad to jail for a possible 10 year stretch. Probably not many family reunions coming out of this group!Â
 @yabadabadone Hey... at the rate they are going, they can have plenty of time having father/son basketball games and card games... in the yard at osp.
well if a wise son hears his fathers instructions but the soul of the scorner hears not his rebuke, then what do you get if a man himself is evil?
 @lee986321 Have you ever wondered why evil is live backwards?
 @Lips  @lee986321 And God is dog, and spam is maps and poop is still poop.
 @QuandoQuandoQuando  @Lips  @lee986321 Come on now, we don't want to make Lee's head spin too fast.
 @Lips  @lee986321 And Elvis spelled backwards is Sivle. And sipp spelled backwards is... oh, you know.
 @lee986321 pizza?
 @lee986321  Seven. Not wait, purple. But only on Mondays.
 @badcat @lee986321 But there are no more mondays. After the world ends tomorrow.Â
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like father like son
A child looks to their father to set the example and show them the way to live life. What a sad example.Â
 @washcomom You expected, maybe, something . . . err, I don't know . . . different?
Can we see what evidence the gun actually came from the dad? Just playing devil's advocate here but the community outrage over this pressured the PD to do something. However, they were too chicken to actually go after the KIDS that comitted the crime so to appease the people they went after the dad. What if the gun really wasn't his? What if his kid got it from someone else? Just saying...
 @CRB Both kids (I assume interviewed separately) told the same story of not only getting the gun from the dad, but of other guns he had in the house where kids could get to them. He isnt supposed to have ANY guns, much less leave them where a kid could get them.
what about the kid shooting in the air a few days before and the dad was stoned sleeping on the couch..so much for devil's advocate..sorry
 @Pazzo1 same kid?
 @CRB So it is similar to the time of Jesus, a man who was innocent went before the King on the sabbath day.. The Crowds wanted a murder instead of some one who is innocent. Basically the killed an innocent man.
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Something similar to this is what I hear you saying.
The real criminals are the kids, the Father unfortunately are responsible for his kids actions. Innocent or guilty, He himself is to be crucified for what his kids knowingly did.
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Now how did that story about a woman and her child go? the one who bit the mother's ear... Because she never tought him right from wrong.
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Now these 2 kids will grow up state owned and become true harden Criminals all because we wanted blood. I imagine in a few years we will read on how they blew up a bridge or something.
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As for the Father.. His kids were his responsibility the state should have left him up to discipline them as best as he saw fit, even if that meant him sending them off to a military school.
 @lee986321 Are you really comparing this POS felon to Jesus?!? Really?!? DId you read the article, Lee? The father isn't innocent and he isn't a martyr and he wasn't doing a good job raising his son. Holy cow, you're deluded.
 @lee986321  @CRB You are both nuts.Â
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I bet he will have learned his lesson about leaving firearms available for children to get a hold of after all that time to think about it in prison.
 @Portlander29 the kids will be able to buy there own guns by the time he gets out of federal prison.
Props to the Feds for nailing this loser of a father!
Gee is anyone surprised!!!! I mentioned when it first came out that criminal xcon dad had the gun at home......There is a firearm prohibition for most convicted felons and always where the felony involves violence.........Dad needs to go back where he is among his peers......prison.....probably should take his kid with him.
Well, I'd like to see the new stats about spanking Vs Dr Spock. So far I see raising Stats in crime where spanking has been taken away. I have seen a spoiled girl flailing like a fish out of water screaming like a banshee whose had her had stuck in the ghost busters trap just because her grandma told her "no"... What a shame ruining such a pretty Christmas greed dress. I must admit though the "grandma" seem not phased by it one bit. She just kept looking at the things she was looking at and paid no mind to her little hellion of a grandchild.
 @lee986321 Did you call the GhostBusters or just stand there reading the statistics?
This is so rare that it has to make news.
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More of this needs to happen in light of Sandy Hook. The feds to often look the other way when it comes to felons with guns.
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Instead 0bama and his antigunner friends will punish us law abiding citizens.
 @RalphCramden It's ALWAYS like that Ralph...all it takes is the actions of a few and everyone pays the price....didn't you learn this in grade school?
The headline is the only new thing about this! Oh, that's right . . . KATU's studios are very close to a Les Schwabb outlet, so retreads are probably really cheap for them.Â
Oh, well . . . whatever. THE KID SHOULD DO SOME TIME!
Sorry for shouting.
Merry Chris-- . . . . . oops . . . . . Happy Holidays. {:-p
 @Gravity Works!Â
And Merry Holidays to you or Seasons Greetings or whatever PC phrase is correct these days....8-}
 @RalphCramden  @Gravity Works!Â
I say
"Happy Christmas"
or
"Froehliche Weihnachten".
The smiles I get far outway the dirty looks.
To each his/her own!Happy Christmas y'all!!!
 @RalphCramden  @Gravity Works! PC, Lets see, Merry Christams..yeah that is politically correct.. besides to remove God and Christ completely we have to eliminate the Alpha symbol and Omega symbol and remove the letter I X O U S from our alphabet . after all it is based on roman and Greek. And then we would have to remove the numbers 6 and 7 as they are referenced in the bible. We would have to eliminate the 10 commandments. and there goes all the laws. We would have to eliminate mothers and fahters day because the bible says were to Honer our mother and father.
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Well right about now I bet I am sounding kind of nuts.. Oh we would have chaos Even Jesus Tells us to pay out taxes or Render unto "Caesar what is Caesar's" .
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We would have to rewrite history and Erase All leaders back in the time of Jesus all the way back to the time of Moses and such. as even the Figures are mentioned in real historical text..some people like the Pharos were really nasty.
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I think I said enough.. I think I proved my case about being Politically correct.. This reply is as insane as the very notions of being Politically Correct which is a fancy for saying Censor our selves. so with this I end by saying
Happy Hanuka
Merry Christmas
Happy Winter Sulstace
I probably left a few out. but oh well.
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 @Pazzo1 Be thankful one has a job, for those are getting hard and scarce to come by. One may hate it, but at least..it pays the bills, or one hopes it does.
Why?? I have to get up early and go to work..thanks
 @Gravity Works! thanks, oh wierd thing..My dog has no fear of them .. Never seen a dog that was not afraid of them..He just watches them.. weird, but kind of nice in a way.
 @lee986321  . . . and good luck with that.
 @Gravity Works! I plan to celebrate with fire works on New Years!
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 @lee986321  Uhmmm, Yeah, whatever floats your halo, have a good one, you and all of yours!
(and I really and truly mean  that!)