Archived News

Mark,
He is not at home, nor did they let him out to go to his brother's funeral.

James,

I understand everything you said. But if you could have heard Debbie, Nick's poor mom wailing at that poor boy's funeral....you could see she would have done ANYTHING to avoid this. The pain that she, David, and Michael are going through is unimaginable to me. The eulogy was beautiful. It was a Saturday, we should not have been at church that day :( Let's all come together for Michael, that poor boy lost his other half!!!
My heart goes out to David and Debbie. RIP nick!!

It's unlikely that the 16 yo will spend any time in jail.He is probably at home with his mommy right now.
The scary part is that when he goes to trial he will be put on probation and the court will force him to go back to school with your kids, where they will tell him it's not his fault and when he finally kills some decent person's son or daughter the authorities will scratch their heads and wonder how this could have ever gone wrong.

What a shame.
I grew up in Stone Mountain and Chamblee and and I can tell you that even if your kids go to the best schools in Dekalb county,these guys are going to be there.Get them out at any cost ie. private school,longer commute.No convenience is worth your childs life.
I knew plenty of kids like this growing up.They are raised by mtv and the juvenile justice system and every day one of them brings a gun to little Johnny's middle school.
Disgusting!

I cannot speak for anyone else involved in this tragic incident, but I personally knew Alex as a fellow student at his college and as one of the few people who he could open up to as a friend. When we see the faces of criminals on a report like this, we are conditioned to see them as subhuman entities, or monsters. But the reality, which is more fearful than what we would suppose, is that these kids, who will likely be imprisoned for life, are human beings like you and me. They were not born to be killers or drug dealers, but life in this cruel world fused violence and selfishness into their identities. Alex cared about many things and many people, and he wished that the world had more healing within it, but the loss of his father and the death that followed him everywhere and his rejection by the world made him believe that he could not survive as anything but a criminal. I told him that you can only expect positive changes in your life if you give your things, your mercy, yourself to the world when you need it to give back, but he had been taken from so much that he could never understand what I meant. I grieve for Nicholas Sheffey and his family, and I know that Alex and his friends earned their time, but when you see something as horrible as this in the news, you should go help someone who is helplessly in pain so that maybe a future tragedy can be averted.

I'm a student at the university where Alex attented, and he went to the school where I attended middle school. He's not a deadbeat and he's not a thug, and you're a grown woman bashing a teenager on the internet - classy. Alex has a great heart, he just allowed himself to get caught up in situations and things that were harmful towards him. Do you have ANY idea how many students in college do drugs and get in fights? People in Tuscaloosa get arrested every weekend for drinking, posession, and simple assault. Alex didn't pull the trigger. I am certainly not standing up for any of these boys, what happened was HORRIBLE and those involved should most CERTAINLY be punished, but I can only imagine how much Alex is beating himself up for what happened, the last thing he needs is more grief from other people. I've driven him home to Atlanta before from school and we were friends. He doesn't have a black heart. Yeah, he definitely messed up and it's so unfortunate that he didn't think all of his actions through. I feel nothing but total sadness for the loss of the family and for Alex's mother who I'm sure is a wonderful and caring mother, but you're a mother too. How would you feel if people were on the internet bashing your son for something. You know that if you're son got involved in things like this, you would NEVER just let him rot in jail. It's maternal instinct to take care of your child. And as a parent, its your job to parent a child so actually YES you take away privileges. I'm in college and my parents still parent me, but also give me the space I need to make my own decisions and learn from them - that sounds like great parenting to me. You have to show your children what it means to respect from the day that they're born and raise them in an appropriate environment for them to be stable. Not only does Alex's mom have to suffer for her son's misfortune, but also for the death of Alex's father, something that has a huge weight on Alex's heart. You as a grown woman should know better than to bring down someone whose past you do NOT know everything of. I'm only 19, but I would NEVER in my LIFE get on the internet and bash someone calling them "deadbeats" and "thugs" and saying that they "get what they deserve." That's not at ALL your problem, OR your business, let the justice system do their job, I'm sure that you have more important things in your life to deal with than a kid who spent the night at your house a few times and pissed you off. You never fully know someone's background or family history, you never know why people act the way that they do and you CERTAINLY have no right to judge him. No one is perfect, and he messed up, but you don't need to bring the weight down on him when he already has enough from his family, himself, and the legal system.

This is a tragic story and my heart goes out to the family. I have read everyone's comments and I understand the feelings we all share. Devin was a bad dude with parents who let those two little boys roam the neighborhood at all hours of the day without watching them. Devin was kicked out of high school and was busted for stealing a car last year. Now he goes and commits armed robbery of some drug dealers and the only reason he is sorry and trying to change his life is because he got caught, Mr tough guy when he is holding a gun but now he will be a 16 yr old punk who is going to REAL jail this time and he will have a tough time dealing with real criminals.....I hope the youngest boy gets help and doesn't go down Devins path. The parents have a chance to make a difference for him so i hope they do. The other 3 losers will get what they deserve......i hope its life in prison. sad story. Without Devin commiting these crimes maybe the ending would have been better.

You are all so off the map. My son attended school with Sidloskas and he spent the night in my home several times. He was a bully and when I refused to allow him to do something in my home he threatened me. I sent him home and never allowed him back. I knew his mother and she is a very thoughtful, caring woman. When a man child hits a certain age, there is not a lot a single mom can do to control him. I thank God my son's father is very involved in his life and, when I couldn't handle him, he stepped in and slapped the child upside the head. As a parent, you can control them to a certain point, but when they reach the age of 17 or 18, you no longer have that control. What are you going to do, take away television, game systems, computer, car privileges? Let them get arrested for these types of horrendous things. They deserve it. My heart goes out to the family of that innocent child. They should definitely be in jail and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. And by the way, some of you people really should have learned to spell and use correct grammar - perhaps you won't find yourself in their positions.

Signed,
The mother of a US Army Corporal. I did the right things. Deadbeats, who suppport these thugs, you people should think about a better path for your life.

CAn yall please give Devin a break I knew this whole family personally. I took him the church after the robbery and everything. He was trying to change his life around. So don't wish horrible things against someone. He fells bad yes, but we have to move forward in life. I loved nick i knew him since he was 3 years old, but he is in a better place now.

It is a sick, sick story and I agree that all three of them deserve something terrible. But in regards to the parent comment, I know for a fact that Alex Sidloskas has lost both of his parents in the past two years or so, so that could have something to do with why his actions display zero morals. What was done to this innocent little boy and his family is simply disgusting.

As I said My heart goes out to the Parents but as far as placing comments on a public page? Isnt that the point? To have open dialog? How do you solve any problems if you dont even discuss them or provoke thought about them? It is that Political correct ignorance that has caused many of our sociatal issues to begin with. Your worried about them being embarressed? This is the forum for them to tell their side? They should be embarressed! they should be ashamed!
And as far as my parenting goes? I assure you my 16 nerarly 17 year old son does have the "tools" to be and act like a civil person. Im not criticising Devins Parents blindly. Im also a parent of a boy close to the same age and I can only assume your not by your responses. Being a parent is much more then just placing a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs. It requires work and honest effort. You have to be involved in their lives. The 11 year old had a bright future so then it must just be that Devin was geneticaly predisposed to be bad and thus release the parents of any responsabilities? Well, All righty then? Now the Bright 11yr old with the great future wont have that chance? and it is because Devin was some how in the cosmic creation of his soul evil? It is because a "cog" (BTW, that Cog was his leadership and guide to life) was but only one small part? Really? and I never said that Devins Morals were less or more then any ones. He knew the differance between right and wrong, he just didnt care. That is a direct indication of lack of leadership and responsability in his young life. To say that troubled kids should be sent to Jail is what he needed is wrong. Let us surround him with even more bad influences to fix him. Put him in the middle of Drug dealers and gang bangers etc..... Im certain he wouldnt learn how to become a better criminal and it would cause a revalation in his thought processes.
James, I have very much enjoyed this Open Discussion withyou. You seem to be a very enlightened and educated person. I hope to some day Discuss other topics with you and wish you the very best in your Social endeavors. best wishes to you and yours.

Point well taken. You are very right, it is not the responsibility of the legal system to instill moral values in these children. However, I must say I have a bit biased view because I know the family personally. As I said, Devin has been in and out of trouble for years, and this incident has been in the making for a long time; before he ever robbed those men. Unfortunately, when his judge should have been sentencing him to consequences for his actions (because as you said, the kid must know that when you do bad, you get bad), all he received was a slap on the wrists. I definitely agree that it is the parent's responsibility to instill moral values into the children; there is no doubt about that. But to say that because Devin's values are less then ours is his parents fault is still (in my opinion) looking at one cog in a complex system. Devin's parents are not his jail keepers, and even though he is sixteen, they cannot indefinitely control him. Nick was a brilliant little boy, who had a very bright future ahead of him. If it was absentee parenting, wouldn't have Nick been on the same road Devin was? We can only place so much emphasis on the environmental factors here, because at the end of the day, some people (such as Devin) just don't have the same tools to cope with life in such a healthy manner. I have the opportunity to work with people similar to Devin quite frequently, and I must say that it opens your eyes to how many people don't develop the protective factors that a lot of us have. No parent can force these protective factors on their children, they just have to learn it themselves. To say that these people are "lazy" and "unaccountable" because they can't control their son is (in my opinion) a mulish view, and very crass. I should certainly hope that your children never have to experience such things, and if they do, I hope that someone doesn't sweep them under the neat little rug of bad parenting and tell you you're "lazy" and "unaccountable" for not keeping your child locked in their bedroom. Furthermore, when a child dies, whether it is the fault of the parent or not, how can a parent not feel responsible? I'm sure that all they thought about while they were by Nick's bedside is "what could I have done differently?" I'm positive that everyone in this family is accepting more then their fair share in this, but they also don't want to blast that out for everyone to read about in the Champion Newspaper. Again, in my opinion, to say things of that nature about such a tragic incident is in very poor taste. This may be very biased, but I must say, Ben, that there is a lot more happening in this family then this story (or any of these stories) cover. In fact, more often then not, from what I know from speaking with their families, a lot of this information is incorrect.

Thank you James. Upon Further review I stand corrected in the absentee parent comment. I appologize for it as well.
However, I have to take issue with the analogy that "The Legal System Failed" Comment. It is not the Legal System to install Moral Values in the population. That comes from the home and Family. I dont want any judge telling me how to raise or direct my Child's moral path....
Drugs will always be present in any society. Alcohol is also a drug and so is Tylonol. The presence of Drugs isnt the issue at all. Most of sociaties members live everyday with out that influence in their lives. That is a cop-out and throws a broad net around a complicated situation. It is the lack of any Moral Compass that alllow people such as this 19 year old Kid.( Yes, I know he is a legal adult) to think that stealing form anyone (Especially Drug Dealers) wouldnt have consiquences. If you put bad things in you will get bad things out.... to think any other outcome is possiable would be ignorant. The Legal system didnt make or raise this man so to pin his faults on them is completely unfair. These parents have been there and seen every issue in this young mans life and didnt resolve the problems. They just kept him alive long enough to not make him their problem anymore and for their Lazy and uncountianable behavior they are rewarded with the sincless death of their 11 year old. My Heart goes out to them for their losses. They have lost 2 sons in a matter of weeks but will not ever except their own hand in that. They once again are victims and not even in a small way contributors to this tragidy?? So lets blame who? The Legal system? The education system? any one we can except those who were there every day and allowed this to unfold right in front of them. I suppose it must be our fault James because we as citizens didnt do enough to council and educate these men?

Your right, there was no mention of the parents, and that is only due to this coverage of the story. All over other Atlanta newspapers there are mentions of the parents; they are clearly devastated. I have read in multiple places that his mother didn't leave his side since the shooting until he passed away (God rest his soul.) A situation such as this one does not come strictly from absentee parents; such a view is monocausal in a situation that is obviously not monocausal. Unfortunately, this is the society we live in, and this is what happens when drugs are so easy to get. This is what happens, in my opinion, when the legal system fails (Devin has been in and out of trouble for years), when kids don't get the help they need, when they don't learn how to cope with feelings of anger and the desire to act out (along with a million other reasons, those are a few that just come to mind.) It is really unfair and just too bad that it takes something like this for people to change, but that is how it works I guess.

Has anyone noticed that no where in a single report about this case has any one mentioned a parent? Perhaps if we allow our savage sociaty to raise and mold our children then this is the sort of enevatable outcome?....Just saying. Im sure he feels just awful for getting his Brother killed by Robbing drug dealers for Christmas. All Of these cowards deserve lethal injection.

How does it feel to have gotten your little brother KILLED. I hope you all rot in jail and then a hotter place.