Parents Turned in by Daughter Charged

Bobby and Judith Young, the Tustin couple whose 13-year-old daughter turned them in to police after hearing a lecture on drug use, were charged with possession of cocaine Thursday and ordered to appear in court next month.

Bobby Young, a bartender, was still in the Orange County Jail Thursday night after an appearance in Municipal Court in Santa Ana. His wife, a federal Bankruptcy Court file clerk who was not at work Thursday, had been freed Wednesday.

Orange County Municipal Judge Manuel A. Ramirez ordered them to return Sept. 23 to enter pleas.

Deanna Young, an only child, appeared at the Tustin police station shortly after midnight Wednesday with a trash bag containing what police believed to be an ounce of cocaine, reportedly with a street value of about $2,800, and smaller amounts of marijuana and pills. She said it all belonged to her mother and father.

Attended Lecture

It was after having attended a church lecture on drug prevention Tuesday evening that the teen-ager took the dramatic step.

Bobby and Judith Young were booked into the Orange County Jail early Wednesday on suspicion of possessing cocaine for sale. However, Deputy Dist. Atty. James J. Mulgrew later changed the charge to mere possession, because that would make them eligible for a drug diversion program and perhaps eventual dismissal of charges altogether, he said.

“My perception of what this girl did was she was trying to do something that she felt would help her parents,” Mulgrew said. “And I think that the system ought to give them the opportunity to provide the help they need, if they need it.”

Handcuffed and wearing a mustard-colored jail uniform at his court appearance, Bobby Young answered only “yes, sir,” when questioned and “thank you sir” after Ramirez ordered him freed on his own recognizance.

However, he was still being held in jail Thursday night on a warrant that was issued when he failed to appear in court for a speeding ticket.

‘Natural Reaction’

“He was angry, in so far as it would be a natural reaction,” said Young’s court-appointed attorney, Deputy Public Defender John Lee. “But he was not expressing specific anger toward any specific person.”

Meanwhile, the blonde, blue-eyed junior high school student remained in protective custody at Orangewood, the county’s shelter for abused, abandoned and dependent children.

A Juvenile Court hearing is scheduled today to decide whether the girl should remain in protective custody. An attorney will be appointed at that time to represent the teen-ager, Superior Court Judge Phillip A. Petty said.

Petty fended off reporters’ requests Thursday for interviews with Deanna.

“We are trying to look out for her best interests and protect her,” he said.

At Orangewood, Deanna was “getting along just fine with the other kids” and attended classes offered for those her age, shelter director Bob Theemling said.

Expressed Concern

He said Deanna did not seem fearful of her parents but expressed concern about them when he told her about the custody hearing and the parking lot full of reporters she could expect to be waiting for her before the court proceeding.

“She comes across as just the all-American teen-ager who was concerned about her parents. But she is anxious about all this,” Theemling said.

In the well-groomed Tustin cul-de-sac that has been Deanna’s home for five years, classmates and acquaintances said she earned good grades and was popular in school.

“She’s pretty happy. She has so many friends at school I can’t even count them all,” said Monica Sikorsky, 13. “I think she was right. I know I couldn’t live with my parents doing something like that. What she did took courage.”

Kathy Peterson, a neighbor, expressed the hope that Deanna’s parents would forgive her.

“I just feel so bad for the girl,” she said. “It must have been the hardest thing she’ll ever do in her life.”

Times staff writers Juan Arancibia, Gary Jarlson, Kristina Lindgren and John Spano contributed to this story.