A judge sentenced 11-year-old Daniel Marquez, who was arrested after the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said he texted a friend a picture of a gun and referenced an upcoming event at their Cape Coral elementary school, to probation in a disposition hearing on Thursday.
Details of his probation include a curfew from 6:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m., he will not be able to leave Lee County without permission, and will not be allowed to possess guns, knives, or other weapons. The judge withheld adjudication and didn't say how long this probation would last.
A Lee County Judge ruled in July that Marquez, who was 10 at the time of his arrest, threatened violence at his school when he sent a text message to a friend last year.
The ruling was more than a year after Marquez was arrested after the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said he texted a friend a picture of a gun and referenced an upcoming event at their Cape Coral elementary school.
The story made international headlines when the sheriff’s office released the video of Marquez being walked in handcuffs into a patrol car.
Fox 4 does not normally identify juveniles charged with crimes; however, due to the public nature of the case and the fact that Marquez testified in his case, we are choosing to name him.
Marquez and his parents have long maintained he was joking when he sent the picture.
The previous text messages in the conversation with his friend were about how Marquez had “scammed” a friend of his out of a large sum of money.
He claimed the picture of what was described as an AR-style rifle was meant to show an expensive item he purchased, not as a threat.
Since this is a juvenile case there was no jury. Instead, Judge Carolyn Swift made the decision. She found Marquez to be in Delinquency — the juvenile court equivalent to being found guilty.
