Global Entry Denied - arrest 24 years ago (juvenile) felony?

[mikeevee]

I applied for Global Entry online and was conditionally approved. I went to my in person interview with US Customs and Border Protection on 1/2/2019 only to find out I won’t be approved that day. Apparently, after the fingerprint check, the agent asked me if I have ever been arrested. I replied no, and he asked do you have another name I go by, and replied no. He found an arrest record and he then asked you weren’t arrested in 1995? I tried to remember and said no I don’t remember. I then asked, for what?

He replied, it was with the Torrance PD. I grew up in Torrance, so now I remember an incident. I told him, I remember when I was younger, my childhood friends and I got kicked out of Torrance mall (Del Amo Fashion Mall). After trying to remember, I really couldn’t during the interview. I started to remember the details during the drive home.
Here’s what happened, we were at the mall, I was only 14, Torrance PD at the time split groups of 3 or more. Not sure what happened, but I remember my family friends started to run away from the Torrance Police and chase one of them. I just stood there. When they caught one him, they found a Honda Emblem on his keychain and said he stole it. They arrested us 3. Two of the family friends were brothers.

Long story short, they brought us to the Torrance Police Department and called our parents. Our parents picked us up and that was the last thing I remember. My parents were upset but told me that one of my friends dad said the Honda emblem was given to him. It was a keychain and they though it was stolen from a car at the mall. This was it, I thought of nothing about this and listened to my parents about not to hang out with these friends.

What the US Customs and Border Protection saw on my record was:
Arrest Date: 08/04/1995
Agency: Torrance PD
Arrest Case # xxxxx xxxxxx
Charge: Receive/Stolen Property 496(A) PC
Severity: Felony
Disposition: Unknown

I told them nothing happened that I can recall after we were sent home with our parents. I was 14 at the time and can’t remember all the details, but I know I never went to court and my parents just said the next day that it was taken care of by the parents of my family friends. I didn’t have anything on me when we were arrested, I just happened to be in their group and friends didn’t want to answer whose keys they found that night.

What the US Customs and Border Protection wants is a Disposition. I don’t have much info from here.

My question is: Can I call Torrance PD and ask about the case? Will they still have records after 24 years? Will they do anything? Is there something I can do to get this resolved or at least updated? I didn’t even know I had a record until the fingerprinting. I never even had gotten a speeding/parking ticket in my entire life.

 

[HighwayMan]

My question is: Can I call Torrance PD and ask about the case? Will they still have records after 24 years? Will they do anything?

Why are you asking us? Why didn't you call the Torrance Police Department to see if you could get a copy of the report?

So you're SURE you didn't go to court? Seems kind of odd that this was in the system if everything went as you described.

 

[HighwayMan]

I'm curious if you travel internationally a lot and if you've ever had a problem coming back into the country.

You might want to take a look at Mobile Passport. I've used it on my last two international trips and I can't see any way of coming into the US being easier. Best of all it's free.

 

[CdwJava]

It is highly unlikely that the Torrance PD will have a 23 year old juvenile detention or arrest report still on file. But, for that to be on a federally accessible record somewhere, it was more than a mere detention with a group. Your name and identifying information was almost certainly transmitted to the state DOJ and/or the FBI as part of an arrest and booking procedure.

You can look here for overall information ... https://www.courts.ca.gov/1070.htm

And, here, for info on sealing a juvenile record ... https://www.courts.ca.gov/28120.htm

 

[mikeevee]

Interview was just this past Saturday. Not open yet, waiting now. Yes, I travel internationally every year. Never a problem.

I'm sure, never been to court. Honestly, I'm stumped, I work in cyber security and have gotten clearances. Not going to disclose too much info, but everything I mentioned is accurate. I'll get more details. I wrote the same thing on another forum and they mentioned that it might be unknown because of being a juvenile.

 

[quincy]

The records are probably sealed if you were a juvenile at the time of the incident. Do your parents have any information?

 

[HighwayMan]

Your option is to forget about Global Entry. As I said Mobile Passport works great and gets you expedited entry.

I flew into JFK from Germany last year and once I got to Immigration I was out on the street in literally five minutes.

 

[mikeevee]

Thanks for the suggestion, I already paid for Global Entry and woke up early Sat am to get to the interview. Would at least like to try if it can be salvaged.

Update:
Thanks for the help, Torrance PD directed me to Childrens's Court and I called them as well. I faxed them a JVC 570 & JVC 575 Form. They couldn't find any record of a case number while on the phone with them. They said, if the case was dropped it wouldn't show up with a case number. They are finding more info and will notify me with records found/not found or a letter saying there was no case to this arrest.

JVC 575 will supposedly allow me to request the report from Police Agency.Hopefully I can submit all the info before the 30 days CBP has given me for a an answer with disposition.

 

[CdwJava]

The records are probably sealed if you were a juvenile at the time of the incident. Do your parents have any information?

He's in CA and that doesn't happen automatically. It's possible that the parents sought to have it expunged or sealed since there was no true finding, but, I would think he would have remembered that hullaballoo. But, it might be worth asking the parents about it.