DENVER - It is a tough truth for a mother to accept.
Paula Whitehead's teenage son is accused of taking part in a series of beatings and robberies on complete strangers in downtown Denver over four months.
Two weeks ago, police made mass arrests in the case.
"He called me crying saying 'I really need to talk to you,'" she says of her 17-year-old. Whitehead spoke on KHOW Radio Thursday morning about her son, Kavean McCloud, who is accused of assaulting a 24-year-old man on the corner of 17th and Market Street as part of an initiation process which left the victim with a skull fracture.
"I'm praying for his full recovery, and I want it to go out to his family. We are not known people to hurt somebody or attack somebody because of race or ethnicity," says Whitehead.
McCloud is one of 34 people charged with a series of downtown attacks. Police think 22 of them picked their victims because they were White or Hispanic.
Prosecutors say McCloud's attack was not racially-motivated.
"They're victimizing us and no one is saying a word. But when they victimize White people, then it's an issue and that is wrong," says community activist Alvertis Simmons, who believes police overcharged the suspects with hate crimes.
Simmons says the government needs to do more to help young black men achieve, especially those without fathers in their lives.
"When Kavean's dad left, then his older brother left. I can tell you there was a void in Kavean's life, looking for a father-figure or brother-figure, which is normal," says Whitehead. She believes that is why her son became vulnerable with the wrong crowd.
She says Kavean has a bright future. He was ranked 10th last year in the state for scoring in basketball at Love Christian School. And, Whitehead says, he already has scholarship offers.
"They also can bring this to a point where maybe he doesn't have a future at all. Maybe he spends years in jail," she says.
That's where he is now, on $1 million bond, and the charge of first-degree assault is already impacting McCloud's life.
On Thursday, the basketball coach at Montebello High School took McCloud's name off the team roster; a team ranked ninth in the state.
Also late Thursday afternoon, Denver Police arrested Allen Ford; the 35th and final suspect in the case.
He faces charges of aggravated assault and aggravated robbery.
Paula Whitehead's teenage son is accused of taking part in a series of beatings and robberies on complete strangers in downtown Denver over four months.
Two weeks ago, police made mass arrests in the case.
"He called me crying saying 'I really need to talk to you,'" she says of her 17-year-old. Whitehead spoke on KHOW Radio Thursday morning about her son, Kavean McCloud, who is accused of assaulting a 24-year-old man on the corner of 17th and Market Street as part of an initiation process which left the victim with a skull fracture.
"I'm praying for his full recovery, and I want it to go out to his family. We are not known people to hurt somebody or attack somebody because of race or ethnicity," says Whitehead.
McCloud is one of 34 people charged with a series of downtown attacks. Police think 22 of them picked their victims because they were White or Hispanic.
Prosecutors say McCloud's attack was not racially-motivated.
"They're victimizing us and no one is saying a word. But when they victimize White people, then it's an issue and that is wrong," says community activist Alvertis Simmons, who believes police overcharged the suspects with hate crimes.
Simmons says the government needs to do more to help young black men achieve, especially those without fathers in their lives.
"When Kavean's dad left, then his older brother left. I can tell you there was a void in Kavean's life, looking for a father-figure or brother-figure, which is normal," says Whitehead. She believes that is why her son became vulnerable with the wrong crowd.
She says Kavean has a bright future. He was ranked 10th last year in the state for scoring in basketball at Love Christian School. And, Whitehead says, he already has scholarship offers.
"They also can bring this to a point where maybe he doesn't have a future at all. Maybe he spends years in jail," she says.
That's where he is now, on $1 million bond, and the charge of first-degree assault is already impacting McCloud's life.
On Thursday, the basketball coach at Montebello High School took McCloud's name off the team roster; a team ranked ninth in the state.
Also late Thursday afternoon, Denver Police arrested Allen Ford; the 35th and final suspect in the case.
He faces charges of aggravated assault and aggravated robbery.
