Zachary Watts at his detention hearing.
A Texas teen released on suspicion of burglarizing an Egg Harbor Township home was arrested two days later on charges of attempted robbery.
Zachary Watts, 18, was arrested on Sept. 16 after the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office chose not to file a motion to detain him on charges of robbery, theft, criminal mischief, trespassing and possession of prescription drugs. He was released on the day.
In that case, Watts allegedly admitted to police that he broke a basement window and entered a bedroom of the home and stole prescription drugs and approximately $8.57 worth of coins from Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Two days after his release, Watts allegedly broke a window and removed the screen of another house in town. According to the suspect, he was not inside.
Defense attorney John Bjorklund said Watts was drunk and high and did not remember much of the attempt.
Bjorklund said the boy had been in the area since being sent to Surfside Recovery Services in Ventnor, but was sent there after spending 114 days in a transitional living rehabilitation program in Tennessee.
Now, Watts’ parents want to send him to a program closer to their home in Colleyville, Texas.
Judge Pam Darcy is giving them that chance at a detention hearing Tuesday.
She ordered Watts to be released only if his parents came to pick him up. He must then enter a rehabilitation facility as part of his release conditions.
Watts was still at the Atlantic County Justice Facility on Wednesday.
