Teens Arrested Over "Gangster Grandma"

A Palm Beach County, Florida teenager found himself in court - instead of in school, after police arrested him for abusing his grandmother.

Sheriff investigators say 18-year-old Michael Alfinez manipulated his 85-year-old senile grandma into wearing a black mask, spewing profanities and brandishing a gun and money on video. The teen is charged with elder abuse, discharging a firearm in public and improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon.

Deputies say Alfinez made the video for display on websites and a D-V-D video called "Gangstas N Thugs."

The 85-year-old woman is seen and heard on the video threatening to shoot ``all the pigs,'' referring to police.

Authorities say Alfinez also appears on the video firing a gun from a moving vehicle and with friends vandalizing Christmas displays in neighborhood yards.

Palm Beach County sheriff's detectives seized the video during a traffic stop in January. Court records do not list an attorney for Alfinez.

The teen made a first appearance in a West Palm Beach courtroom yesterday.

Alfinez's mother and father, Michelle and Raymond, were also in the courtroom.
His mother, Michelle, calls the incident a misunderstanding.