Honors Student Stole to Buy Drugs, Police Say
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BERKLEY, Mich. — A high school honor student and gymnast is charged with an armed robbery and is a suspect in several others, allegedly to support a heroin habit, authorities said Wednesday.
The 16-year-old girl is in a juvenile lockup, awaiting trial as an adult on charges that could land her in prison for life.
News of her arrest shocked Berkley, a low-crime community of 16,000 that typically only has half a dozen stickups each year.
Though she denies committing the robberies, the girl admits she is a heroin addict, police said. She was arrested Dec. 21.
In all of the stickups, the robber said she had a weapon but did not show it, police said.
Defense attorney Howard Arnkoff said the girl should have been handled as a juvenile.
Police said she had a $200-a-day heroin habit, but one hospital expert said she was probably sharing the drug.
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