but will it be enough to sway judge bonaventura?n throughout the summer until his 18th birthday at his last hearing because he felt that the extra supervision from myself and mr. zimburski would really help him get through the summer to ensure that he would be able to stay on the right track. in almost seven years i've never had a juvenile ask me for that extra time with probation and with a therapist. they want to get off, get done, and call it a day. and rodrick actually came to me and looked me in my face and said can you please stay with me on my case, let me stay on probation with you so we can get through this. >> can you be more specific about the level of improvement that you've seen in the past year of working with him? >> he had an allegiance with a street gang, and there was a lot of respect that he got with the street gang, a lot of authority with the street gang, and position. and recently rodrick has terminated his association by removing the tattoos on his arm, which is a measurable feat. >> how significant a step is

. >> for 26 years lake county juvenile judge mary beth bonaventura has been making tough decisions to get kids like aaron back into track. >> they're coming back into the community. i want to do everything i can do first before i send them to the doc or department of corrections. >> because of aaron's age, his long history with the juvenile system, and the fact that he's still on probation for attempted car theft and battery, the stakes are much higher this time. aaron has already been warned that the prosecutor's office is looking at waiving him to the adult system. >> i've got a bad record. so i'll probably beg please don't let take my life away from me. to me that's taking my life away. that will be three adult felons instead of just one. i have three pending. >> aaron admits he has an unquenchable thirst for taking cars that aren't his own. his other vice, playing escape artist. >> my staff called me to let me know that he was trying to be a trickster and had a detention officer bring him up sunday night for the release for the weekenders. and our intake officer elizabeth noticed

. >> on judge bonaventura's docket, two different but equally heavy hearings. case of two brothers who have been in detention over and over, but still could face years in the juvenile system. and then there's devin who at 18 will stand in the judge's courtroom one last time. if he gets locked up again, it will be an adult jail. >> i wish i could go back to when i was 10 years old with the knowledge i have now. i could be anywhere if i wouldn't have messed with the drugs. >> do you think your kids can come home with you today? >> i want them to come home, but it's for the best. >> i said, no, i can't do that. i can't let you in the house. and then i found out he was shot. visit us... in louisiana. visit us... they came to see us in florida... nice try, they came to hang out with us in alabama... once folks heard mississippi had the welcome sign out, they couldn't wait to get here. this year was great but next year's gonna be even better. and anyone who knows the gulf knows that winter is primetime fun time. the sun's out and the water's beautiful. you can go dee

therefore, judge bonaventura is out of options when it comes to rehabilitation. could let him go if she feels he's not a threat to himself or the community. she could send him to juvenile prison, or she might waive him to the adult justice system. >> thank you. i think that listening to your description of him sitting next to you and him being bigger than you really strikes a chord with me and it's really sad. here's a young man who has sort of grown up in our system. by some people's opinions it might be that he failed because he left the program before he was supposed to. that isn't going to make me give up on children. up until a few weeks ago, that's what he was, a child. just because you reach that magical age does not make you an adult. it's what you do after that with your life that makes you a grownup and a man and an adult. there's a lot of bumps in the road of life. and hopefully you'll get over those bumps. because we're not going to be here to hold your hand anymore. you're going to have to do that by yourself. good luck to you mr. pizano. i hope you

. >>> i'm going to bonaventura? >> will you state your name, please?. >> how old are you, devon? >> i'm 18. >> we're here because devon was arrested on a bench warrant issued by the court. it says here your whereabouts were unknown by the juvenile lake county probation department. further he has failed to attend his court-ordered counseling and lastly, he has failed to attend an educational program on a regular basis. go on and have a seat up here, please. >> you were ordered by the court to attend counseling, is that correct? >> yes, ma'am. >> did you attend counseling? >> i had left the home and was trying to live on my own. so i didn't attend from april to june. >> let's talk about why you left the home. why did you leave your mother's home? >> the reason i left is we started getting into arguments. i was getting into a little bit of trouble. i started smoking weed again. i left the home because i was scared that when i did go to court these would be brought up, and i would end up getting in trouble. >> what were you thinking was going to happen to

. >>> if there's one thing senior judge mary beth bonaventura has learned in her 26 years in juvenile, it's that there's never a playbook when parents and kids face off in court. >> you can sentence someone to death. you can sentence someone for life imprisonment. but to try to figure out how to put a family back together in about 30 minutes after you read the report of a certain pattern of behavior that has probably gone on for years is a very tricky thing to do, very important thing to do, and wow, the impact we can have if we get it right. >> kymyada is charged with running away, and although she's told the judge her side of the story, her mother has yet to establish why she turned her daughter over to the police. >> she chose to go and be with her god mother. >> okay. so she didn't leave the house without your permission, did she? >> no, she didn't. because i gave her an option. i said you abide by the rules, or you can go. >> at some time you called the police and reported her as a runaway. >> she didn't call, she didn't check in. she didn't do anything. so the same pattern with