. >> for 26 years lake county juvenile judge mary beth bonaventura has been making tough decisions that aim to get kids like aaron back on track. >> they're coming back into the community. i want to do everything i can do first before i send them to the dlc 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 not

therefore, judge bonaventura is out of options when it comes to rehabilitation. she 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

. >>> i'm going to bonaventura? >> will you state your name, please?devon starkey. >> 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, that he has failed to attend his court-ordered counseling and, lastly, he has failed to attend an education nal 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 w

. >>> if there's one thing senior judge mary beth bonaventura has learned in her 26 years in juvenilenever 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 godmother. >> 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 me she did with the g