ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An incident this week is prompting some action from Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman and BCSO Sheriff John Allen. 

The most recent case where a student was let go after bringing a loaded gun to school was the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

“They aren’t worried about law enforcement or the consequences, there is no accountability for juveniles right now in Bernalillo County,” said Allen.

A strong message from Allen to county leaders after a teen was sent to the Youth Services Center for booking only to get let go hours later.

“The word is going out among teenagers out there that you can do what you want there are no consequences, they aren’t even going to book you in the ‘D home’ tonight,” said Bregman. 

They’re talking about a 16-year-old West Mesa student who police say was caught with a loaded gun on campus, and he was allegedly under the influence. 

He was arrested and taken to YSC for booking, but after a few hours of back and forth over his medical evaluation, the child was released instead. 

“The idea that we have law enforcement going out, picking up teenagers who commit violent crimes or the act of committing a violent crime and then bringing them to the ‘D home,’ and they don’t get booked is unacceptable, just unacceptable at every level,” said Bregman.  

The incident prompted them to send a letter to county leaders, saying it “Does not appear that there is any sense of urgency to accept a child into the Youth Services Center’s custody.” It goes on to ask the county more about the intake protocols and the amount of time it’s taking to book teens. 

“Why are they being rejected? They need to cut down on the times any officer and APS has been dealing with it a lot also with their police, why they are there for three to four hours,” said Allen. 

“The problem with that is we don’t have any consistency; we don’t understand someone they will accept and somebody they won’t,” Bregman said. 

In a statement, YSC says they are working on intake guidelines that will help law enforcement understand pre-established medical protocols. They are also working to cut down on the time it takes to book someone. 

“YSC is on a good long term path as far as employment and getting the correct workers in there. Now they need to really focus on intake right now, today,” said Allen. 

In the last hour, KOB 4 received a response from YSC to the letter from Bregman and Allen. It says they are working on streamlining the intake process and plan to present new protocols on May 20.