Who is Vito Corleone-Venisse? Boy, 15, shot and paralyzed by cop, charged with assault
Miami-Dade Police have charged a 15-year-old who was shot by a police officer and is now in hospital. Reports say Vito Corleone Venisee has been slapped with three charges, after an incident on January 16, 2022, that ended with him being shot by an officer. Reportedly, the shooting has left Venisee paralyzed from neck-below, and his family has challenged the narrative police have made public.
The tragic incident is just one of the several in recent months where minors have been on the wrong side of the law. On January 18, 16-year-old rapper C Blu was arrested after shooting an NYPD officer over a scuffle in The Bronx. 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley is another teen who is in legal trouble, and will reportedly pursue an insanity defense in his trial. Back in early 2021, two minors were charged after a carjacking attempt in Washington DC led to the death of Uber driver Mohammad Anwar.
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Almost all American cities have seen a rise in crime, which many have attributed to the "woke" DAs like Chesa Boudin and George Gascon. However, as the case of Venisee shows, there's a deeper systemic failure at the heart of America's crime wave.
Who is Vito Corleone Venisee?
The 15-year-old appears to be a career criminal, with cases dating back to when he was 11. In 2017, Miami Gardens police arrested him for attempted burglary of an occupied dwelling. He was declared mentally unstable to stand trial, but that experience didn't deter him. Two years later, he was arrested again for attempting a burglary. By the time he was 14, Venissee was arrested for robbery and arrested again for failing to appear in court over the case. That case also saw him being accused of unlawful firearm possession.
It appears that the minor has been exposed to weapons, with firearm possession being one of the two charges he's been slapped with over the January 16 incident. Reports say that on that night, Venisee and his friends were heading to a car meet, as police were on the hunt for a stolen car. At one point, cops found that stolen car, a Dodge Charger, and next to it, a Dodge Challenger in which Venisee was sitting.
When officers ordered the two vehicles to stop, they both took off. The Charger managed to get away, but the Challenger crashed and three occupants including Venissee ran out of the vehicle. An officer then got into an altercation with Venisee, which ended up with the teen being shot. Police recovered a handgun from Venisee, and two others from inside the vehicle.
As a result, police have charged Venisee with possession of a firearm by a minor, resisting an officer without violence, and aggravated assault. "The defendant confronted the subject, the subject was armed, shots were fired," MDPD detective Alvaro Zabaleta said about the case. Police have also invoked Marcy's Law to avoid naming the officer who shot Venisee, claiming he was the "victim" in this case. The Miami Herald and other media agencies though have identified the officer, naming him as an "experienced and decorated veteran sergeant." MEAWW is choosing not to until the police do.
Venisee's family has challenged the police's narrative and claimed he wasn't driving the car on January 16. They've also claimed the teen was shot in the back, which the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has reportedly said is false. In light of his current condition, Venisee's court date has also been shifted while the teen reportedly fights for his life in hospital.