FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Attorneys for 15-year-old Jah’Kobe Bessent pleaded not guilty on his behalf in Broward County court Tuesday, a little less than a month after prosecutors moved to charge the teenager as an adult in an August crime spree that ended in a fatal crash.
Bessent and then-13-year-old Jacory Flournoy are accused of breaking into a Fort Lauderdale home on Aug. 28, stealing a white Mercedes-Benz, and crashing near the intersection of Northwest Ninth Avenue and West Oakland Park Boulevard in Oakland Park.
Prosecutors allege the two were trying to flee police when they crashed and killed Maria Telez-Valderrabano, a 35-year-old mother of three.
Her family appeared in court Tuesday morning to view the proceedings.
Telez-Valderrabano’s sister, Emily Feria, told Local 10 News that it was good to see the teens behind bars, but said the process is nerve-wracking.
“I’m totally stressed. Losing my mind,” Feria said. “I’m getting panic attacks at night, so I’m just trying to be strong.”
Both teens have extensive juvenile records, but it appears it’s the first time Bessent has been charged as an adult.