Thursday, January 18, 2007

Boy Genius

The odyssey of a gifted 9 year-old boy who channeled his smarts in the wrong direction:
Semaj stole an Acura that was left running outside a neighbor's house and was quickly spotted by police. Police pursued him at 80 to 90 mph until he took an exit and the engine blew, after which the car went over a curb and coasted into a tree.
He refused to come out of the car, so officers broke a window to unlock a door and immediately recognized him as a frequent runaway and car thief. Last month he also crashed a stolen car before being caught by police, and more recently he was caught in a stolen car that had run out of gas.
His mother believes he learned to drive from playing video games on a PlayStation.
She had told police not to bring him home if he got in any more trouble, but the local juvenile detention center wouldn't take him because he was too young.
So he went home, and the next morning he was missing again.
He went to the airport because he didn't like Tacoma, Washington and wanted to get to his grandfather in Dallas.
Somehow he boarded a flight for Phoenix, and changed and got on a flight for San Antonio (evidently the wrong flight) where he was apprehended.
Southwest Airlines is trying to figure out how he got through airport security and on the flights.
He must have had a boarding pass and since he was so young they didn't ask him for photo ID.
The boy's mother, Sakinah Booker, said he dislikes the neighborhood where the family lives and is afraid of a sex offender who lives nearby.
She also says he needs a male role model.
I think he just needs a better way to use his smarts and energy.

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