A teenager who was arrested for allegedly stealing a 65-cent carton of milk from a middle school cafeteria will not face trial after prosecutors decided to drop theft charges against him Thursday.
Ryan Turk, now 15, was arrested in May at Graham Park Middle School in Triangle, Va., after he allegedly cut in the lunchline and grabbed a milk. Ryan, who qualifies for free lunch at the Prince William County school, said that he had forgotten to take a milk while standing in line in the cafeteria, so he decided to return to pick one up.
A school resource officer arrested him and charged him with disorderly conduct and petit larceny after he objected to being sent to the principal’s office.
Ryan’s family turned down an offer of nonjudicial punishment and decided to fight the charges; a trial had been scheduled to begin Thursday morning. Prosecutors dropped the charges after speaking with the teen’s counselor.
“He’s already taken actions to remedy his attitude,” Prince William County Commonealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert said.
Emmett Robinson, a lawyer representing Turk, said the family will petition to remove the charges from the teen’s record after a year. “This is over for the time being,” Robinson said.
Ryan and his mother, Shamise Turk, acknowledge that he took a carton of milk on May 10 last school year, but they say he was entitled to it and did nothing wrong. The family has alleged that Ryan was discriminated against, targeted because he is a black teenager who did not want to go along with a police officer who they say was being unfair.
The officer and the principal involved are also black, something the county noted last year in responding to the claims that the student was targeted by race.
The school resource officer told authorities that Ryan cut in the lunch line, took a carton of milk and concealed it. The officer confronted him, and he reported that Ryan threw the milk back. When the officer suggested that he needed to speak with the principal, he became disorderly, police said at the time.
Sgt. Jonathan Perok, a Prince William police spokesman, said in September that the middle-schooler “leaned back and pushed against the officer” and that as the pair approached the principal, the teen tried to “push past the officer to get away.” The family has disputed that account, saying Ryan did not conceal the milk and that the officer aggressively confronted him unfairly.
The Washington Post generally does not identify minors charged with misdemeanor crimes, but Ryan and his family opted to speak publicly to bring attention to the matter.
Ryan Turk declined to comment about the case as he walked out of the courtroom Thursday. His mother, who began pursuing a master’s degree in criminal justice after her son was arrested, said her family’s ordeal carries a message for other parents.
“Listen to your kids, back them up a hundred percent, and don’t settle,” Shamise Turk said. “If you know your kid has done nothing wrong, don’t settle for what they offer. Just keep going. Be their voice.”
(c) 2017, The Washington Post · Victoria St. Martin
