Girl Charged With Pistol-Whipping Mom For Car

A Florida high school student faces assault charges after pistol-whipping her own mom to make her co-sign for a sports car. The weirdest part: the mom didn’t want to press charges because the girl is such a good student.

Click to view

According to Today, 17-year-old Rachel Hachero showed up at a Ft. Myers Nissan dealership on her own, but was told she couldn’t have a loan for the car she wanted. So she went home, pulled a gun on her mom, pistol-whipped her with it, and forced her to drive back to the dealership and co-sign. An odd detail: the dealer apparently didn’t notice anything amiss with the two women when they came back to buy the car. Nonetheless, Hachero’s mom, Linda, did file a police report — but she later said she didn’t want to press charges because Rachel had gotten into several Ivy League schools and she didn’t want to jeopardize her chances.

The Ivy League may be out, at least for a while. Hachero’s being charged with aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a firearm (the gun in question was apparently originally stolen from a police station, although it’s not clear whether Hachero was involved in that theft). If convicted, she could get up to five years in prison. Coverage of the case has focused on the unlikeliness of Hachero as a violent criminal — the car dealer described her as “five foot nothing” on CBS 12, and Today mentions her status as varsity athlete and honor student at “the private and prestigious Canterbury School.” Of course, the case is a reminder that being a petite honor student doesn’t necessarily mean you’re all sweetness and light.

It also brings up a number of questions — when did Hachero get the gun? Was she just keeping it hidden away until she needed to force her mom to do something? Were drugs involved (apparently they were found in a search of Hachero’s possessions)? Did Hachero snap under the pressure of her “prestigious,” Ivy-League-bound education? And how did her moral sense and relationship with her mom get so fucked up that she thought pistol-whipping was a good method of persuasion?

Honors Student Allegedly Pistol-Whips Mom To Get Sports Car [Today Show]
POLICE: Honor Student Pistol-Whipped Mom For Car [CBS 12]