Father Of Teen Arrested In Assault Case Says Son 'Defended Himself'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The father of one of the teens arrested in Wichita, Kansas, over the weekend asks people to reserve judgment until the whole story is told.
Seven juveniles who are part of the Urban Stars basketball program in Minneapolis are accused of yelling and throwing things at people. They were in Kansas for a tournament. Eighteen-year-old Lucas Jarvi is a friend of one of the players. He was also arrested.
"The story I get from Lucas is he was attacked and he defended himself," Bruce Jarvi said.
Jarvi said his son Lucas traveled to Wichita with his girlfriend's family. Her brother plays on an Urban Stars basketball team.
"He kind of said the guys hadn't won too many games and that he was enjoying himself," Jarvi said.
At some point over the weekend Jarvi said his son called, saying they were having trouble with some homeless people.
"I told him, 'Lucas, leave them alone -- pretend they're not even there,'" Jarvi said.
The next he heard, his son was under arrest, along with seven juveniles on the basketball team, ages 12 to 15.
The group is accused of threatening three people, then throwing rocks, bottles, bricks and concrete.
Another man told police the group pushed him and then threw rocks at him. Police think there may also be victims who are homeless.
"At first it's kind of devastating," Jarvi said. "A lot of thoughts run through your head. 'What's going on here?' The only conclusion I came to was there has to be a bigger story to it than I'm understanding."
Jarvi calls his son a typical 18-year-old who's father to 2-year-old Lucas Jr. He said Lucas had run-ins with police as a juvenile, but this doesn't sound like something he'd do.
"I don't know if those people were unduly provoked, whatever caused it," Jarvi said. "He doesn't do that type of stuff here."
Jarvi said Lucas is on probation for an incident as a juvenile.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett released this statement: "The Office of the District Attorney has asked law enforcement to provide additional information through follow-up investigation. When this information has been gathered and provided to our office, a final charging determination will be made. At such time, the charging determination will be announced."
